Step Up 4: Play It Your Way
by Kate-Emma
Summary: Complete - Fanmade sequel - A NYU student and a small-town girl vie for the ultimate job at a Dance Academy, but when developers want to take down the academy, can they unite to save the place from destruction? OC/OC and Moose/Camille
1. Play It Your Way

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the 'Step Up' franchise…

Step Up 4: Play It Your Way

**A/N: **I'm a sucker for a good homemade sequel. Try and imagine the dance scenes! lol

One NYU ex-student with a dream.

A small-town kid looking for a break.

The ultimate job.

But there's only room for one…

Holly Given had a dream to dance, tread the boards and hold her own in the spotlight, but when reality took hold she lost everything. Now she spends her time in the background, a cashier and carer with nothing to look forward to – except for the ultimate job at a local dance academy.

Moose thought for sure that with a double degree under his belt he'd be set for life, but two months later he's stuck bouncing between two futures and no idea where he wants to stay. He wants to dance, never wants to stop, but that doesn't pay the bills and now he's truly caught up. Caught up until he sees the ad on the Internet about the dance academy in Philadelphia. Teaching isn't his first choice of careers, but it's that or losing everything, and what he wants most won't wait.

Now two kids vie for one job.

Who will win?


	2. Living The Dream

**Disclaimer: **'Step Up' ain't mine! Song is 'Mine' by Taylor Swift. (lyrics in italics)

Chapter One;  
Living The Dream

Something small and furry catapulted itself off the back of the lounge and landed squarely in the middle of Moose's textbook, glancing up at him with wide eyes. For a few seconds he considered vaulting it towards the stairs but then remembered it probably wouldn't end up finishing well for him so he simply picked the cat up and deposited it on the floor. It ran away quickly towards the small kitchen area nearby as Moose turned back to his book, trying to remember where he'd been up to in his study. It was three weeks until his final exams, only mere moments away from the end of his college days, and Moose couldn't find one place where he could just study in silence. The Pirates Vault wasn't an option, what with everyone bouncing off the walls, and his own dorm room was useless since his dorm mate was a rat-like freak who was currently building some sort of time machine for his end of year exams, and the Library was clogged with study groups and had no space left. Eventually he'd convinced Camille's new housemate to let him study in her place while they were in class, but he hadn't taken into account Tibbles the cat.

"Meow."

Moose turned and looked at the cat, now perched on the kitchen counter and staring at him with wide, judgemental eyes. "Tibbles, seriously, go away." It mewed again. "Stupid cat." Pushing his book off his lap, Moose stood and started towards the cat. It took a few steps back at the look of frustration on Moose's face, but it wasn't directed at Tibbles specifically but more at his own inadequacies. He was worried about what was coming up, what future he was going to face, and the fact he just couldn't bring himself to study wasn't helping. In his first year he'd been so gung-ho, only leaving study behind so he could train, but now… well, that was gone.

Pulling at the first three cupboards, Moose soon remembered exactly where Camille was – shopping. He turned towards the cat. "We've got a slight problem Tibbles." It tipped it's head slightly to the left, either completely understanding and wanting to know why or just confused as to why food wasn't in front of him right now. Moose continued anyway. "No food." If cats could frown Moose was sure it would look something like what he was now looking at. "I'm not kidding you, really, it's bare and th…"

He was cut off by a giggle from the doorway. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." Camille was stood there holding five very large shopping bags. He rushed up and took a few of them. "Thanks." As she followed him back to the kitchen she glanced at the cat. "Tibbles been giving you a headache?"

"He's the devil incarnate. He's jumped on me, chewed on my shoelaces, mewed until I couldn't carry on and…" he stopped when he heard Camille's laughter. "Enjoying this?"

"Oh I'm sorry but you were warned when you asked to study here." She picked up the cat in one hand and carried him over to a bag Moose had just placed on the bench behind him. "Tibbles is very high-maintenance," she paused. "A lot like his owner actually." She grinned at her mention of her flatmate Constance, another ex-NYU student like Cam who she'd met through work. Now they were both working their way up the ladder at a local PR company, it was fast track to the top for these two. As for Moose, well, it was just like the day he found out Cam was going to the Halloween Dance with Kristin instead. Another 'what about Moose?' situation.

"I looked for work again today." He backed out of the kitchen and returned to the couch, not even bothering to pick up his book, simply shoving it aside so he could sit down. "There's still nothing."

"Something will come up." Cam had finished opening a can of cat food and was now plonking it into a bowl for Tibbles. "You know, you still haven't done your exams, it's not 'panic stations' yet."

He shrugged. "Maybe but, I just hate scrounging off my parents, letting them keep paying my way when others around me are already out there, surviving in reality." He watched Camille begin to empty the shopping bags. "It just makes me feel like, well, I'll just never, you know…"

Camille looked up before she shut the fridge and gave him a frown. "What are you saying? That you're a failure?" She raised an eyebrow. "Moose, you're anything but."

"Then explain why I'm overwhelmed, stressed and living out of my girlfriend's pocket?"

"Because she lets you get away with murder." She grinned. "Actually, when hasn't she?" Turning away with the grin still perched on her cheeks, she shoved a packet of biscuits into the cupboard above her.

"I'm serious Cam." She turned back to him, the cupboard door still in her hands, and saw he was looking worse than downbeat. "What if nothing comes up? What happens then?"

"Then we work it out."

"We?"

Camille frowned and shut the cupboard quickly. "Yes, you and me, we work it out. We always have, dealt with it, together. It's how we work best." She leant against the counter. "What's this really about?" Her smile gave a small mocking tone. "Because something tells me it isn't jobs."

He looked away, never one for overemotional situations. "Nothing."

"I'm not going anywhere Moose," she turned back towards the IPod speakers sitting on the counter and starting scrolling through the list. "You'd have to make me first." She noticed him look up from the corner of her eye and smiled softly, finding the song she wanted. She hit play. "_Oohh ohh ohh._"

Grabbed a spatula from the washing up, she held it up like a microphone. "_You were in college working part time waiting tables_." Stepping around Tibbles expertly, the cat looking up slowly before returning to his food, Camille returned to the living room. "_Left your small town and never looked back._" She hopped up so she sat on the kitchen bench behind her, tossing the spatula so it landed with a crash into the washing up and made Tibbles run. "_I was a flight risk with a fear of falling_." Kicking one leg up over the other she rested her chin on her fingertips and posed like that statue she'd seen once in a field trip to the museum. "_Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts_."

She didn't even notice Moose had joined her until he grabbed her and lifted her off the counter, depositing her back on the floor with little effort. As she looked at him she saw that sparkle again, the old 'dancing' sparkle, and she knew it had worked. "_I say 'can you believe it?' as we're lying on the couch alone_." Moose found his feet, dancing backwards and kicking things out of the way as he did, clearing a space. Camille watched her flatmate's bits and bobs go flying and knew she'd be in for it later, but right now didn't care. "_And I can see it, yes yes, I can see it now_."

The dance moves, almost perfectly in synch, came naturally. "_Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?_" The moves were pretty basic, a few bits of popping and hip hop mixed into turns and one ballet-like leg lift from Cam, but extravagance wasn't the aim of the game – they were just dancing for them. "_You put your arm around me for the first time_." Grabbing her hand, Moose twirled Camille so she landed a little off-centre and had to jump to regain her composure. "_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter_." Her vision a little blurry from the unexpected spin, she didn't even notice Moose had left her side at first. "_You are the best thing that's ever been mine_."

A small purple candle landing at her feet helped her work out where he was – now standing on the small dining table and enjoying kicking things off it. Another candle went flying. "_Flash forward and we're taking on the world together_." She grabbed at a small ornament as it went flying past and saved it from destruction. He'd successfully cleared the thing now and was achieving a move Camille had seen before, something like the 'worm' except done on his back. "_And there's a drawer of my things at your place_." He executed a full flip and remained on top of the table, but the poor thing gave a groan under the pressure. "_You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm bothered_." Camille could only watch him dance, too caught up in his enjoyment to master her own. "_You say I'll never make my parents' mistakes_."

Having now realised the wood beams of the rafters were right above him, Moose grabbed them and pulled himself up as Camille watched, unsure whether to let him go until he killed himself or destroyed the place or get him to stop. She just didn't have the heart to stop him though. "_We got bills to pay, we got nothing figured out_." At that moment Tibbles took the opportunity to appear, lurking out from behind a nearby ottoman and looking up at Moose more confused than a cat should ever look. Camille saw what was coming before Moose started to do it. "_Well it was hard to take_…" Moose dismounted the table, a flip with his knees tucked up so he could grab his ankles, and his course took him straight towards Tibbles. Camille kicked the small purple candle at the cat just before it got crushed and it skedaddled, leaving the floor space in front of Camille clear. "Oh my god Moose, you nearly killed Tibbles!"

He wasn't listening though as he stood, took Camille's hand, and ushered her towards the table. Shrugging off all inhibitions and now aware Tibbles wouldn't make another appearance anytime soon, she got up. "_Do you remember all the city lights on the water_?" Her moves, in her mind, were nowhere near as good as Moose's. She was a good dancer but he was a cut above…

"_You saw me start to believe for the first time_." Caught up in dancing she didn't even notice Moose had gone quiet. Without the sound of destruction, it seemed almost eerie. She paused. "Moose?"

Then he appeared, appearing from behind a pile of boxes holding Camille's tap shoes. "Ha ha, I knew you hadn't thrown these out!"

Camille jumped off the table and made to grab them but he wouldn't relent, starting back towards the linoleum-covered kitchen floor and tapping out his own beat against the music booming out of the speakers behind him. Watching him Camille just smiled. Moose had a lot of things over her – hip-hop, breaking and he was the master of floor work, but when it came to tap she was the queen. Grabbing the shoes she pulled them on and shoved him aside softly, tapping out a very experienced routine. As she finished Moose fell back into what he did best, breaking and popping out moves that some would say require every bone to be double jointed. Shaking her head Camille expertly executed two more taps, a spring crouch into a handstand and then curled her left leg under her and rolled back into a standing position to find herself alone again. Starting to the couch she kicked off the tap shoes.

"_You said 'I remember how we felt sitting by the water'_," she took a seat on the comfy brown leather sofa, shoving Moose's textbook aside with her foot, her thoughts drifting away to her own past. "_And every time I look at you it's like the first time_." With a thump Camille glanced up to find Moose standing on the couch behind her, one foot pressed into the headrest behind her. She caught his eye and saw his smile. She held his gaze for a moment. "_I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter._" Then he grinned and Camille frowned. "Moose? What are you g…" before she knew what had happened the couch was upside down, the headrest to the floor, and Camille was seeing the world upside down. With a sigh she kicked her legs up and rolled over herself and back into the floor just in time for Moose to grab her under her arms and pull her back to her feet. "I'll kill you for that." He just grinned and turned the IPod up louder.

With a shake of her head she pulled the ottoman closer and stood on it. "_Ooohhh, you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter_." Moose continued to dance around her. "_You are the best thing that's ever been mine_…" With a leap she jumped off, managing her own kick behind her before she landed back on her feet just in time for Moose to pass and grab her again. They stopped in front of the couch and Moose gave her a few moves to copy. She mastered them so he stepped it up a notch.

"_Do you believe it?_" Camille continued to sing. "_Do you believe it now?_" One last move before the song ended and it was an old favourite – the back and forth tap routine from four years earlier when Moose had come to win her back after a fight, the dance with the ice cream van and two little girls who seemed determined to put everyone and everything down. "_I can see it. I can see it now_…" they fell onto the couch together, the poor leather thing still upside down and Moose's heavy engineering book skidded across the floor, tired but pleased.

The enjoyment was short-lived when the front door slammed and the pair looked up over the back of the lounge as Camille's flatmate Constance walked in. She frowned when she saw them and then cast her eyes skyward with a sigh. "Why?" She dumped her bag on the couch as she passed them towards her bedroom. "Why did I get a house with dancers?"

As her bedroom door slammed shut the pair laughed, slowing so Moose could comment. "You can really sing too."

Camille flicked her hair in the most pompous way she could pull off. "I know; I'm awesome." Standing straight and glancing around the mess they'd left behind she motioned to it. "Clean this up?"

Moose nodded. "Yeah, probably a good idea."


	3. Once More With Feeling

Chapter Two;  
Once More, With Feeling

Holly Given had mastered walking on her hands a long time ago. She just did it for fun now.

Kicking her legs one last time, she landed back on her feet and stood up, brushing her hands on her track pants and sitting down on her bed. It was late at night, well after her grandparents called it quits and went to bed, but Holly couldn't sleep. Today was the day she learned that everything she knew was about to go up in smoke.

At twenty-four she knew she should be going out on her own, facing her future, but everything was just so big and scary, plus all the excuses seemed to be working so why stop? She could say she never had a proper education; her life disrupted by death and disaster, her upbringing a mess of new homes and a different family member every second week. That mum had gone and daddy just never loved her. But the truth was that 9 to 5 was something that flat out terrified Holly. She was a free spirit, the girl that sat in the park and stared at trees, not the one sitting behind a desk answering phones for some hotshot lawyer. She'd never really find peace in further education and knowledge – at least not the kind of peace she felt when she was just sitting in her room watching music videos and trying to copy the moves.

And for the last twelve years she'd had that, the safety net of her grandparent's home in Seattle, but that was gone now she was back in the care of her father, the number one mess in her life.

Dear old dad had been an Army man once, her childhood spent bouncing around the country in Army-issue homes as he went off to different countries and worlds that Holly couldn't even get her little head around, but that had all gone when Holly's mother was killed in a car accident when Holly was just eight. After that her father couldn't handle Army life, took two years service leave to regather himself and try and make sense of the whole thing, but he was never the same. He went back to war, back to Afghanistan, and got caught up in one thing threatening soldiers overseas everyday – the very easy to access drug trade. Her father found heroin made the pain of losing his wife go away. Two years later, no longer able to control his addiction, he snapped and revealed what he'd done. He was marshalled, dismissed from the Army, and sent back into a world he too couldn't handle. The Defence Force had been his life and now, no support and no education, he was useless in normal America.

And then there was that drug addiction and a twelve-year-old daughter to deal with. He dumped her on her grandparents and ran off, not to be seen again. Now he was back after a short stint in jail and a rehabilitation program. He was clean and according to the courts he could have his daughter back in his care if that was what she wanted.

It wasn't, but as a dependant what else could she do?

That was when she'd seen the advertisement on the Internet – auditions for a new dance teacher at a Philadelphia dance academy. The best bit: no formal education required.

Holly was a dancer through and through, living and breathing dance moves and making every situation in her life a musical, but she'd never had the money or time for formal training. The extent of her dancing lessons started and stopped at copying what people did in music videos. She learned hip-hop, tango and everything in between from watching back-up dancers and musicians, doing what they did on the living room floor instead of studying. And she had a knack for it too. She had the inner rhythm, something you could never really learn, and picked up every move after the second or third time at the latest. She could master and remember whole dance routines in under a day. She was built to dance.

And now she had the money, the time and the reason to do it, there was nothing to hold her back.

The same night she sent in a request for a try-out, she also booked her train ticket to Philadelphia.

…

He hadn't expected to find his answers in somewhere like, god forbid, Pennsylvania. For him Philadelphia in his life was confined to history lessons regarding the Declaration of Independence and the source of his favourite Subway sub topping, not the place where he could find a career. He'd dreamed once, long ago, of making it big on the streets of New York, a big name in big lights, but then who didn't? New York was filled with had-beens, coulda-beens and still-yet-to-bes. Moose just fit somewhere in the middle. Had been someone, couldn't be someone yet, and who knew where he was going anyway?

He'd approached his dance professor a few days earlier regarding any positions in the city, anything he could get his head around, but all dance positions in academies across the city were looking for years of experience, shining accolades and a penchant for salsa or tango. It seemed Latin dance was sweeping NYC in a fad growing faster than vampires even. So he set his sights on out of town.

He hadn't intended to go as far as Philly though.

"Philadelphia?" His dance classmate Erin had raised an eyebrow when he told her. Coming from a Latin American family herself she'd already taken up a position in a local dance school, but things weren't so simple for Moose, even if he could tango to save himself, he certainly wasn't good enough to teach. "Why the hell would ANYONE with NYU training want to go to Philadelphia?"

"Because it's a dance academy for all disciplines." He shoved the printout in her hand. "Hip hop, Bollywood, tutting, popping, heck even basic jazz ballet."

"You know I'm picturing you in a tutu right now right?" He frowned and she held up a hand. "Okay, fine, I understand, but still it's a long way to go for a job. There'll be new jobs opening in the autumn, why not just wait until then?"

"Because I'm not going to spend summer mooching off Camille, I do that enough already." He snatched the printout back and shoved it in his pocket. "Now I just have to tell her."

Erin lowered an eyebrow. "Hold up, you haven't told her yet?" Moose tried not to look guilty. "Oh god Moose, you told me before you told her?" She tied her long dark hair up into a ponytail. "That's going to go down well."

"I only told you because I thought you'd help me work out what to say. I figure you're good with words since you never shut up."

Erin smirked. "Funny. Try that approach and see how it ends. If I walk past her apartment and find her hanging you off the balcony I'll be sure to call the fire brigade."

"Erin!"

"Fine, look, Camille's cool, just tell her what you told me – it's the only hope you've got seeing as you're not much of a dancer." He punched her softly in the arm then started off. "You're welcome!"


	4. Follow Your Heart

**A/N: **I'm in a good mood because I just started to book my LA trip for early next year! Yay! Look out California! So, here's two chapters in one day!

Chapter Three;  
Follow Your Heart

Erika Moore lifted one leg straight up and caught it around the ankle. Pressing against her calf to stretch it, she glanced up as she was joined in the room by a familiar face, her elder brother Paul. He was assessing a clipboard and looked up as he noticed her there. "Still in training?"

"Never stop." She thumbed back towards the poster behind her. "You don't win challenges by slacking off."

Paul raised an eyebrow. "I can tell you now, if mum saw this she'd probably slap me and tell me I'm over-working my baby sister." Erika brought her foot down with a grin. "You're nineteen, lacking anything like a social life, and I don't think you've ever had a boyfriend!"

Pulling her long black hair back into a ponytail Erika laughed. "You know, most big brothers would be happy I don't have a boyfriend, would be pushing me for more training and less flirting."

Paul frowned and pointed outside. "OUT!" Grabbing her jacket Erika laughed and pulled it on.

"Fine, but if I return knocked-up and unable to win anymore competitions, you're to blame." She skipped out as Paul flicked through the clipboard sheets once again.

…

Holly pulled her second bag onto her shoulder and lugged it downstairs. It was heavier than she'd first imagined but she didn't complain, happy to just be free and ready to go. Her train didn't leave for another six hours, but she'd happily sit at a train station for a few hours. It was easier than facing the inevitable.

Today was the day her father returned and her grandparents had already admitted they had no say in her care. She was headed for life with her father unless she did something otherwise.

Good thing she'd planned ahead.

"Holl? Is that you?" Holly's grandmother's voice floated into the hallway. Holly paused and dumped her bags on the hallway floor.

"Yes gran, it's me. What's up?" The fact was that neither of Holly's grandparents knew her final destination, probably because they'd try and stop her, so she'd taken to doing the one thing she never wanted to do – lying to her family. "I'm just grabbing the last of my stuff."

"Okay. Your father called. He said he'd be early."

Holly almost stopped in her tracks. She'd told her grandparents that at 2pm she'd be meeting her father at the local café, and she'd told her father to come pick her up at 4pm. She hoped that by the time they found her note and realised that she'd gone she'd already be on a train to Philadelphia, but now…

"What?"

Her grandmother stuck her head around the corner. At eighty-two, Elisabeth looked like your average grandmother, and essentially she was, except as far as Holly knew she was the quickest woman on Earth. She'd clearly worked out long ago that Holly was trying to play her, and you had to get up early to beat Elisabeth. "He called to make sure of the address and it seemed you got the times a little off." Elisabeth smiled slyly. "So I made sure he was corrected."

"Gran!"

Elisabeth held up a hand. "Whatever you're up to Holly, running away from everyone who cares about you isn't the way, so you're going to face your father and tell him exactly what you're up to, no matter how ridiculous it is."

"Gran, I requested a try-out at a Philadelphia dance academy and it was accepted, it's a chance to teach and learn the only thing I like, the only thing I'm good at."

Her grandmother sighed. "I thought you knew this dancing thing was for fun only?"

"Do you know how many people that are great dancers now have been told that dancing is just a 'hobby'? This is my chance to do something I enjoy. Face it grandma, I'll never be a lawyer or mathematician, I can barely write and I failed science. Dancing is all I can do."

Elisabeth held up a hand. "Alright sweetheart, but it's not up to me, it's up to your father."

"Gran! If I go now he doesn't need to know, doesn't need to try and stop me, I can just leave the same way he did – without thinking about anyone else at all."

"Holly, you know your father had problems, he didn't just leave you without thinking about you. He wants to know you. Give him a chance to be your father at least once." Elisabeth walked away then, not keen to keep fighting her granddaughter. Realising she couldn't leave, Holly slunk into the living room and sunk into the couch with a sigh.

…

Camille glanced up from a bowl of cereal at the sound of three distinctive raps on her door. It had been a while since she'd seen Moose and even though she knew he was currently doing his exams she was beginning to wonder whether he was avoiding her again. The three knocks, his usual call sign, made her grin and jog to the door to pull it open. She leant on the door and frowned at him. "I thought you'd disappeared on me."

He shrugged, not returning Camille's smile. Hers faded through uncertainty. Why did he look so worried? "Exams do that. Can I come in?"

"Sure." Pushing the door wide open, Camille stepped aside and let him walk in. He went straight to the table, glancing at her cereal and then taking a seat. "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

"Oh great, that's never good." Camille regathered her bowl, thinking it was going to be another talk about how uncertain Moose was. She didn't know what was wrong with him lately but all of a sudden everything made him worry.

"I found a job. The perfect job really. I just have to get it now."

Camille turned with a grin. "Really? Moose, that's awesome!" But he wasn't smiling yet. "What, what is it?"

"There's a problem Cam. It's not in New York. It's in Philadelphia."

…

Holly didn't even realise she'd fallen asleep until a soft shake of her shoulder forced her awake. Her watch, which she glanced at straightaway, told her it was a little after 2:30pm, and when she looked up from it to find her grandmother and father standing in front of her, she realised why she'd been woken. It was time to face her future. "Your father's here Holl."

Holly narrowed her eyes at her grandmother. "I can see that gran." She gave her father a fleeting glance before standing up. "Hi." Shuffling past them, she came to her bags that were still sitting in the hallway. She picked one up gingerly, her still tired body meaning she failed to get a decent hold, and dropped it again. Her father appeared at her side and picked it up, causing Holly to turn on him. "I'm not a child, I can carry it."

Her father looked hurt. "Can we talk Holly?" He thumbed to the doorway. "Outside?"

"I don't have anything to say dad," she spat the word 'dad' with all the venom it deserved. Calling this man her father was farcical. When was the last time he'd acted anything like a dad? The day of her mother's funeral he'd avoided her, and before that he was off fighting all the time and was never at home. Back then he'd been a hero, able to be forgiven, but for the last twelve years he'd just been a loser that happened to help her procreation. Father indeed. "I just want to get on the next train to Philly and leave."

Robert Given didn't know his daughter as well as he should, but he knew from the look on her face that she wasn't angry at all; she was still hurt. He hated leaving her behind when he went off for help, searched for a way out of the hold of addiction, but there'd been no other choice. Now his daughter was an adult and didn't need him. "I know about the dance academy, your grandmother told me, that's what we need to talk about."

"You can't make me stay here. I'm an adult now a…"

He cut her off. "A dependant adult. An adult without a job and nothing to differentiate her from a child."

Holly frowned. "How dare you come in here and call me a child?"

"Holly, we're talking about Philadelphia, so outside, now!" He turned to the door and pulled it open, staring back at his daughter. Giving in, Holly joined him on the porch, leaning against the banister and crossing her arms over her chest. "What is this place?"

It took her a second to formulate a tone that didn't sound quite so condescending. "A dance academy. There's a teaching position, no education necessary, and I think I can do it. I used to lead the local dance group in high school. I know how to teach."

"I know you do, your mother was a teacher and you're so much like her it's not even funny, which is probably why I have so much trouble with you. She used to disagree with me all the time."

Holly had almost forgotten her mother was a teacher; it had been so long since she'd known her, but now she could remember her mother coming home every afternoon and talking about the kids in her class. How jealous of them Holly used to be. They got to see her mother for six hours a day, five days a week. Holly's mother was hers to keep, not to share with other kids. She'd always been the protective type. "If you disagreed all the time, why did she stay with you?"

"Because she liked a challenge. Just like you I suspect." Holly gave a curt nod. "You can dance?" Another nod. "No one in my family can dance so I guess that's something else you got from your mum." Holly stayed silent as Robert frowned at his hands. "And you think you can get this job?"

"I know it's a long way away, but it's a good school, and there'll be onsite accommodation available. It's a good income and steady work an…" she wanted to continue pleading her case, but Robert held up a hand.

"You were always the organized one Holly, so I have no doubt that if you've set your mind to this then you've researched everything about it, probably even printed out a map of the city." He was right; there was one sitting in her suitcase right now. "What time does your train leave?"

"6:03."

Robert nodded slowly. "If I drive you to the train station then you don't have to go until about five, so you can come have dinner with me first, you can tell me what I've missed."

Holly wasn't sure exactly what had just happened, so it took her a second to realise he was letting her go. "You're happy for me to do this?"

"I've spent the last twelve years doing my own thing and holding you back from a normal life, giving you and your grandparents nothing but a family embarrassment, a shame file. You have a chance to be great, follow a dream, and I am the only one holding you back? That would be unfair." He sighed. "You don't need me Holly, you never have, so go and be a star." He didn't expect the hug he suddenly received, but he took it anyway, brushing his daughter's long blonde hair off her forehead as she hugged him. "Go show the world what a Given can really do."

…

"Philadelphia?" Camille frowned, resting one hand on the kitchen counter. "Why the hell would you take a job offer in Philadelphia?"

"It's a dance academy. I can teach any subject I like – hip hop, jazz, c…"

"A dance academy? You're above that Moose. You're an NYU graduate now. You could teach at any of the best schools in New York. Or go into engineering. You received good marks all year in electrical engineering, why give it up now?"

"Because this is what I want Cam." Moose frowned. "Why can't you see that?"

"I get it Moose, you're so worried about the future that you're taking the first available opportunity, but if you wai…"

"I'm not going to wait." He stood up now, eager to defend his choice, and Camille took a step back. "Why won't you just accept that?"

She looked away, thinking over the whole thing, then nodded. "Okay, yeah, I accept it, I accept everything. You want to leave here, you want to leave me, then so be it." Moose made to protest but Camille continued. "I think you should just go now." Camille couldn't believe how obvious it all was. This wasn't about Philly or dance academies; this was about them. He'd been avoiding her, not returning any calls of late, and now he was springing this on her? Only Moose would find such a roundabout way of saying he didn't want to be with her anymore.

"Cam, I d…"

"Okay," she held up a hand, shaking a little from fighting the hurt, then started to the door. "Okay I'll go, but if I return and you're gone, then maybe you shouldn't bother coming back." She stalked off, the door slamming behind her, and Moose looked to the floor with a sigh.


	5. Thinkin' About Us

**Disclaimer: **Step Up isn't mine. Song by Nelly (find and play while listening, it makes it better! lol).

**A/N: **Bit of a shorter chapter this time but it's a teary one and I'm just no good at those so enjoy. Next one will have plenty of dance, promise!

Chapter Four;  
Thinkin' About Us

The house was quiet when Camille returned, her eyes still red from unshed tears, tears only held back by the last of her determination. As she dumped her keys on the coffee table Tibbles appeared, slinking out from behind the couch, looking up at her with wide eyes. "Okay Tibbs, I'll get you some food." Sniffing back some tears and memories, she started to the kitchen cupboard to grab a can when she spotted it, a yellow Post-it note stuck to the iPod dock. She grabbed it and read the two words in Moose's very distinguishable sloppy handwriting.

'_Press play'_

With a frown she slowly hit the play button and the song started up…

_I was thinkin' bout her, thinkin' bout me  
Thinkin' bout us and what we gonna be  
Open my eyes yeah and it's only just a dream…_

Giving in, the tears quickly began to fall.

…

To everyone on the train watching the lanky kid with the curly hair, he probably looked like a statue, but he was actually breathing, even if it was a little laboured. His own iPod was stuck on shuffle, constantly playing 'Just a Dream' in the hope that when Camille did play it at her place, they could be in synch for just a second and not so far away from one another. It was cheesy and something he'd likely picked up from one of his mother's romance movies (which she'd made he and his father endure every Thursday night since the age of four), but it seemed nice enough.

Music had always been Moose's escape. It was why he danced really. Dance and music went together, even if he could dance solely to the thumping of his own heartbeat, and they meant so much. Dance was hope and speech and light at the end of the tunnel. Music was the instrument that made it work.

It said so much without revealing everything in one go. Every time you listened to music it said something new, different, relevant. And right now this song said everything he couldn't say when Camille had walked out that door.

…

It had been three years since the World Jam and back then, when the future held so much promise, she thought it had all been sewn up. They had the Pirates, dance, each other. Back then it had been easy.

Then it just… the real world got involved.

She knew she over-reacted when he told her about Philadelphia, that she should've been happier, but how could he spring this on her? It was so close to graduation, so close to things starting to fall into place, and now he decided to mix up the pieces again? Throw in some more?

Philadelphia? Dance academies? How could he not see this was a step backwards? Or at least sideways.

How could he not think about her? Leaving her behind?

Camille lifted her head from her hands and stared at the yellow Post-it note, sticking and un-sticking it to her thumb. On the third time it fell away and landed on the floor upside down. That was when she saw the smaller writing on the other side, right near the bottom of the little square...

'_Sorry_'

Anger getting the better of her now, she scrunched it up and threw it in the bin.

…

As the train pulled up to a station somewhere along the way (Moose had lost track of where he was a good hour or two earlier), he saw them, the group on the platform. Two girls and a guy. The guy had his arm around the pretty brunette, so caught up in her as she seemed more interested in her fingernails, but it was the other girl that intrigued him. The way she looked at the guy, a guy who seemed so unaware she was even there, the way she studied his every move and smiled when he told a joke. The way she touched his shoulder to indicate the train had arrived. The way he just passed the touch off without even a notice.

Three years ago he'd been that guy. So caught up in something else, someone else, and not noticing what he had right in front of him. Then the Pirates had changed everything. New York made his life right. Dance, friends, Camille.

How badly he wanted to grab that guy and tell him to pay that girl some attention, that one day soon he'd realise she was the best person he could ever know, that she'd make every single day even better than the last.

But that would make him a hypocrite.

How could he say that when he'd left his girl so far behind him?

…

_If you ever loved somebody put your hands up…_

Camille lay on the cool linoleum kitchen floor, just staring at the roof, as those words came spewing from her iPod. When the little green rectangle of music had turned on her she wasn't sure, but right now she hated it, unable to listen to it's message but at the same time unable to stop it.

Before lying down on the floor she'd fished the yellow Post-it from the bin and, turning it over so she could only see the 'sorry', she stuck it to the fridge with a magnet. Her eyes went to it as the lyric repeated and slowly but surely she raised one arm into the air, her tears sliding down the side of her face so they landed on the floor.

Forced to cough back a sob, she didn't initially hear the front door open but when it slammed shut she sat up straight, irrational hope rising like bile into her throat. If he walked through that doorway what would she do? Kick him? Punch him? Kiss him? God, she didn't know.

She didn't need to find out when Constance walked in and dropped her bag on the couch, finally turning to see Camille on the floor. Her eyes widened and she rushed straight over, crouching down to Cam's height and assessing her as if she'd just fallen to the ground. "Oh my god, what's happened? Are you alright?"

Camille shook her head. "It's Moose Connie, he's gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" But Camille didn't answer, just forcing back another hacking sob, and Constance didn't push it, just pulling her friend into a hug.

…

Realising he needed to sleep, Moose leant his head against the window and allowed the rocking train to get the better of him, but his dreams were judgemental and cold, Camille's final words echoing through his head, and he knew in sleep that he'd lost her forever.

In a train coming from the other side of the country, Holly Given was already asleep, dreaming about the future and life away. Nothing weighed her down, nothing held her back, and that was the way it should be…


	6. There's This Girl

**Disclaimer: **'Step Up' isn't mine. Song by Ke$Ha.

**A/N: **I saw Step Up 3D at the movies for the third time on Tuesday. I still love it!

Also, forgive Holly's introduction here. She's not a Mary-Sue and she's certainly not as annoying as she comes off here, she's just naturally competitive. That said, feel free to dislike her, she's just plot fodder anyway! ;)

Chapter Five;  
There's This Girl

Moose was happy he'd got at least 45 minutes of sleep on the train that night because when he got to his budget motel and found the room barely liveable and the bed a lumpy mess of exposed bed springs, he got very little. Well, he probably could've dealt with the springs, but the fact he couldn't turn his brain off didn't help. He wouldn't say regrets was what he had, but that aching feeling he'd lost Camille forever didn't let him get any shut eye that night. So when he walked into the dance academy the next morning for the try-out he looked and felt like the living dead.

Eckhardt Academy for Dance was a large but clearly in disrepair old school just off the beaten track. That said, there certainly wasn't a shortage of try-outs when he entered and the smiling brunette woman at the entrance, a girl barely older than himself and calling herself Ella, took his name and handed him a number. He glanced down at it. 16. Camille's lucky number.

Could this get any worse?

When an enthusiastic blonde nearly kicked his rucksack out of his hand he thought that maybe it could. "Oh god, sorry, didn't see you there." Sporting the brightest green tights he'd ever seen, the blonde had pinned her number to the end of her swing top. It read '13'. "Hope I didn't break anything."

"My bag or your foot?"

The blonde smiled. "Both." She reached out a hand to introduce herself but before she could Ella appeared beside them.

"Number thirteen, they're ready to see you now."

The blonde smiled. "Cheers." She pulled her hand back before Moose could shake it. "Again, sorry."

Moose nodded. "It's fine. Good luck."

Tipping her camo-coloured cap, she smiled and followed Ella to the room. Intrigued by the process and the bouncing blonde, Moose snuck to the door of the room and pushed it open slowly. Two people, one older woman with her hair pulled so tight it actually seemed to give her a facelift and a scruffy-dressed 20-something guy, sat at the front reading off a clipboard. The guy looked up.

"Holly?" The blonde smiled and nodded. "You're from…" he glanced at the clipboard again. "Washington state?" Another nod. "Okay, so what can you bring to the school?"

"Well, um, I haven't actually had any formal training, it's just years of dancing to escape."

Moos appreciated that. He himself was no professional, excluding the NYU degree of course, but that had been less rigorous training and more expression, bring together would people could already do and collate it into one huge performance. A lot like the World Jam actually.

"Okay, that's fine, just show us what you can do." The guy smiled but the stern-looking woman remained shockingly uptight. Moose pulled his forehead up in an attempt to impersonate her as Holly started over to the boom box sitting to the side and hit play.

She smiled. "I'll be dancing to 'Take It Off' by Ke$ha. Hope you like it." Then she turned away, crossing her hands over herself and wrapping them around her shoulders. Standing side-on to the girl, Moose didn't get the full-effect, but still he could see her fingers wave as the song warmed up. Then, with one powerful jump, she crouched into a backwards hand-spring and rose out of it with a snake-charming like belly dance, swinging her head around as she leant over, arms wide before she rolled them back in to clap them behind her back along with the beat. She was perfectly in time, keeping her moves strong and her smile stayed. Moose found her impressive to watch.

As the song picked up she went with it, turning out of the back and forth clap into three full pirouettes, her left foot alternating between being on her knee and pointed out strong as she span. She ended with her legs wide and hands low, leaning down as she pushed herself into the splits. Then, Moose watched with a frown, she flat out stole one of his moves. She pulled her legs in, resting on her tailbone, then span in a full circle, coming to a stop on her haunches with her legs bent up behind her. Then, swinging her arms side to side, she raised herself to her knees. Moose frowned slightly. He had actually intended to use that move himself. The worse thing came next though she actually bettered it – she rose out of the move and into a standing position without putting her hands on the ground at all. Her palms pressed together above her in a prayer-like pose, she rocked backwards and pushed herself to her toes without showing even the slightest amount of trouble. Staying paused on her toes for a second she slowly brought her hands down, turning her pressed-together palms to each side of her face, then gave a clap, a quick turn and finished crouched down, one fist pressed to the floor and her hair spilling over her face. For a second she stayed there and then she stood up.

The guy nodded. "Well done." She shuffled towards the boom box and stopped the song as he turned towards the stern-faced woman and whispered something. As Holly regathered her cassette, he smiled back at her. "Okay, we'll be in contact, thanks for the audition."

Holly gave a slight nod before she headed back to the door, spotting Moose as she did and giving him a soft frown. As she pulled the door open Moose stepped back and gave her room. "You don't have any formal training?" She frowned deeper and Moose motioned to the glass. "Not very soundproof."

She managed a slight smile at this. "I'm starting to suspect this place has seen better days. One of the mirrors in the bathrooms is at an angle." She held out a hand. "I'm Holly by the way."

Moose shook it. "Robert, but everyone calls me Moose."

"Why?"

"Long story." He motioned towards the room. "They liked you in there."

"The guy maybe, but that woman looks like the only thing she likes is lemons." She made a sour face as Moose did his impersonation of the woman again. They both laughed.

"No, seriously, you were good. You're BFABB." She stopped and glanced sideways at him, confusion evident across her face. "Born From A Boom Box."

"That's a good thing right?" He shrugged and she smiled again. "So, what're you bringing to the table? Should I be worried?"

"Well actually you stole one of my moves in there and made it better, so probably not." She laughed as he stopped at the last free seat in the rows pressed up against the hallway walls. "Well, it was nice to meet you and, again, good luck."

"You too."

As he turned back to face the door he saw a young man walk out of the room hobbling on his right foot and looking thoroughly displeased with the whole business. The next person to enter the room was a very scared-looking young brunette girl and then finally Moose's number was called. He smiled at Ella as she ushered him inside and shut the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, Moose dumped his bag just inside the door and stepped into the centre of the room.

"Robert Alexander." The scruffy-looking man smiled up at him, his eyes assessing him with a slight frown in his eyebrows. He said nothing for about ten seconds and then nodded back at his notes. "Show us what you've got mate."

"Actually, if it's okay with you, I'd rather talk."

The man smiled. "It's certainly a new one but sure, go ahead."

"Well, I guess intros are the best place to start. My name is Robert Alexander the Third, but everyone calls me Moose."

The man nodded. "I'm Chris Barry, I teach funk and contemporary, and this is Prue Sylvester, the ballet teacher." Chris raised an eyebrow. "And if you were employed here, what would be your forte?"

"Hip hop, breaking, popping, locking and tutting are what I do best."

Chris nodded slowly. "We could always use more hip hop teachers. It's an ever popular style of dance." He put down the folder and crossed his arms. "But what makes us want to employ you?"

Moose frowned. "I guess I have a bit of a spiel to answer that, so bear with me." He moved over to his bag and pulled out a train ticket. "This is probably the best example of who Moose is." He handed over the ticket and Chris frowned at it. "He's impulsive and stupid and full of crazy ideas." Moose gave a shrug. "But that's all in the package right?" He paused. "I guess a lot of people have valid reasons not to do something, be they excuses or whatever, but I've never been a huge fan of them. People say they can't because they're not allowed, because it's wrong, because they're poor or, god forbid, they should grow up and be a man now." He gave a slight smile. "That last one's my personal favourite."

"I like 'it's the right thing to do'." Chris added.

Moose smiled warmly. "So you understand?" Chris nodded. "Then I probably won't have to work too hard to convince you that they're stupid and a waste of time. I don't find excuses anymore. If something comes up that makes sense to me, something so obvious it jumps up and slaps me in the face, then I go with it, even if my crew think my mad, my parents don't know and my girlfriend probably won't talk to me ever again." He frowned a little. "I'm not a regretful person, even if the little voice in my head tells me I'm mad, I just jump first and then look second." He shrugged again. "And that's how I dance too. The way you dance says a lot about yourself, but I thought it was time I stopped using that and started to tell you why I'd be good at this, because I've used dance so long now that I find it virtually impossible to form the words I need like 'I love you', 'I'm sorry' and the perfect way to tell someone that in an hour's time I'll be boarding a train on a whim and hoping for the best." Chris smiled but Moose just looked at the floor. "So that's it. That's my bit done."

"Most people coming in here looking for a job wouldn't stand a chance with that, even if it does tell me a lot about you and your current relationship with aforementioned girlfriend." He gave a sly smile as Moose glanced up. "You're lucky I know you can dance." He held up his iPhone and on it ran a Youtube video. It was the Pirates at the 1st ever World Jam. It was 'Crush the Floor', the light dance, and right at the front was Moose. "Moose Alexander, stand-out dancer for the Pirates. I had some dancers at the World Jam in the second year and I finally got a chance to see the Pirates in action. Wiped the floor with the competition again." He shook his head in awe. "Your dance battle with the Samurais is legendary. So big it knocked them out of the World Jam for two straight years. People say they never quite recovered from the humiliation. But then as fast as you burst on to the scene you disappeared again."

"I decided to use an excuse and try and pass my electrical engineering exams. I left the Pirates to focus on school for a year."

Chris nodded slowly. "All makes sense now." He crossed his arms and leant back in his chair, still holding Moose's train ticket in between his thumb and index finger on his right hand. "Hold out until after summer, when the influx of employment begins, and you could teach at any school you want Moose. You could be pulling in classes in LA or treading the boards at Millennium in NYC. So tell me, why Eckhardt?"

"I wish I could give you an answer to that, but right now I can't. Give me a job and some time and I'll try and get you a good one."

Chris gave a small laugh. "Alright." He re-pocketed the iPhone and held out the train ticket. "One last thing: in five words or less, who is Moose Alexander?"

Moose frowned a little, thinking it through, then gave his best answer. "He's loud, fun, impulsive and sometimes very stupid." He smiled. "But more than any of those, more than anything, he just…" he paused. "He just really wants to dance."

Chris nodded slowly, glancing sideways at Ms. Sylvester. "Okay Moose, we'll be in contact."

Grabbing his rucksack, Moose pocketed his ticket and pulled his bag onto his back. "Thanks for the time guys." He grabbed the door and pulled it open, ready to step out, when he was stopped suddenly by a figure ahead of him.

"Are you serious?" Moose almost jumped a full foot in the air when the voice came and he glanced up to find Holly watching him, her arms crossed over her chest. "You didn't even dance?"

"I ju…"

She didn't give him a chance. "You know, I got two inches out the door when your name was called and about six people around me nearly died. They were all like 'Moose Alexander of the Pirates?' and stuff I didn't understand. Then they said 'World Jam' and even that name reached the west states. You battled in the World Jam and won?" Moose nodded slowly. "Well when I heard that I just had to come watch. And what do you do? You talk!"

"I decided to mix it up a bit." He smiled. "Hope I didn't disappoint."

Holly narrowed her eyes at him and then pushed open the door again, sticking her head into the room. "Hey, reckon I can talk my way in too?"

Chris glanced up at her. "Alright, let's see: in five words or less, who is Holly Given?"

She counted the words off on her fingers as she spoke. "Your new work mate buddy." Chris gave a soft laugh as Holly raised her eyebrows and turned back to Moose. "Beat that."

"You're a naturally competitive person aren't you?" She gave an unapologetic shrug. "Alright then, I bet you can't buy me lunch for less than ten bucks in this city."

"Challenge accepted!" Holly started off before she understood what he'd just said. "Wait a minute, I'm not buying you anything World Jam champion."

Moose just laughed. "Fine, I'll buy my own lunch, but if you get this job and I don't, you owe me."


	7. Hey Mister Boss Man

**A/N: **To inspire myself I started trying to cast Holly and Chris. I succeeded with Holly. To see her search for _Lizzie Wicks_ on Google and Youtube. She's an England-born, Australian dancer who is, for lack of a better word, freakin' awesome! Oh, and, enjoy the chapter! ;)

Chapter Six;  
Hey Mister Boss-Man

Holly was sticking her fries into her McDonalds sundae when her phone went off, causing her to nearly drop her dessert, but she put it down on a nearby wall as she fished out the cell. "Holly." She frowned as the woman read the message in a monotone voice before she decided to clarify. "So, I'm coming in again, what, now?" A stiff 'yes' from the woman Holly guessed to be the stern woman in the audition. "Okay, um, be right there."

Moose wasn't far away. After separating from Holly at the nearest McDonalds, he'd headed back to his hotel with his cell phone pressed to his ear, trying once again in vain to reach Camille. After the fifth attempt he sighed and lowered it to take a bite of his cheeseburger when it went off again. Pulling it out he answered it without looking at the Caller ID. "Chameleon?" When the woman, incredulous tone to her voice, said 'pardon me' he knew it wasn't. "Sorry, hi, this is Robert."

"I'm calling to inform you that you've been chosen to meet with the head of Eckhardt Academy regarding your application for employment."

Moose frowned at the stern tone and then immediately recognised it. "Ms. Sylvester?"

"Yes. Now, you're going to have to be here in the next twenty minutes, he's very busy."

"Okay, great, thanks." Snapping the phone shut Moose shook his head slightly at Ms. Sylvester's monotone and completely impersonal message before he snapped himself back into reality and started at a jog back towards Eckhardt.

…

Chris stood in the doorway of Eckhardt, his arms crossed and leaning against the frame, just waiting for the two new arrivals. At twenty-eight Chris had seen enough of the dance floor himself to last him a lifetime. During his teenage years he'd been runner-up in plenty of dance contests and, as for street battles well, he had a rep or two, but now he'd resigned himself to teaching. It was the best connection he had to dance without the stress and aches of competition. Scruffy in appearance, Chris didn't exude confidence and his easy-going smile made it seem like he was a walkover, but he could hold his own in any situation and he had a sharp wit that was the perfect defence.

"You probably scared them away with that welcoming tone of yours Prue," he shot back at the stern-looking woman behind him. "Maybe we should've got Ella to make the calls."

Ms. Sylvester just frowned. "They have ten more minutes. You shouldn't be so impatient." She turned and walked off.

"Great," Chris muttered to himself. "I'm getting 'stress less' advice from 'Lady Uptight'."

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." Chris turned back to find Moose standing there. "My g…" he paused, a sad look crossing his expression. He edited his sentence. "I was told that once." He held out a fist and Chris pumped it. "What's up man?"

"Final two Curly Sue." Moose grinned at the hair reference. "But you have to appease the boss-man first."

"Talking is suddenly my forte." Moose popped his collar with a comical smile. "I totally have this."

"You'll have to get past me first sunshine." Holly stepped into the school behind the two guys. "So what pushed me over the edge? The dance or the great speech?"

"The fact everyone else sucked." Chris gave her a warm smile.

"Oh, that's cute." Her smile fell into a frown. "When your back's turned you'll pay." She held up a fist and pretended to stab away like Norman Bates.

"Come on Psycho, this way." He ushered them down the hall. "The boss is Mr. Eckhardt's direct descendant. If you didn't do your homework then listen carefully. Arthur P. Eckhardt founded Eckhardt Academy in 1921. The war was over and the 'good times' were starting up. Back in his native England he'd been a soldier, seeing the war when he turned eighteen in 1917. He wasn't around enough to be traumatised forever, but he did learn from war that doing what you loved was paramount. Following the war he came to America where his brother lived. Together they got into dance, but where his brother thought it some part-time fun and a way to pick up girls, Arthur saw it for what it really was. In his first interview after opening the Academy his first words about why he did it, why he opened a dance school, were '_dance crosses boundaries that others fear to'_." He glanced at the two beside him and saw Moose grinning at the words. Holly was frowning a little at the floor as she walked. He looked away from them again, returning to his story. "In 1939 the Second World War began and while Arthur was no longer a Brit by law, he felt obliged to return to war. He died in 1939 not from war-related injuries but by choking on a peanut. His brother took over the Academy until 1941 when, on December 7th, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour and sent America into war. He joined the army as soon as possible. While he fought his wife and son managed the Academy until he returned. He, Thomas Eckhardt, died in 1971 aged 74. His son Paul took over long before that however. Paul led the Academy from 1956 onwards. Paul was so caught up in the Academy that he never married and never had children. Thankfully Arthur Eckhardt did have a family line. His girlfriend back in England, who he'd lost touch with before he went to war, had a son. On Paul's deathbed in 1998, sick from pneumonia, he went looking for someone to carry on the family legacy. That was when he found Arthur's great grandson, a young American himself living in Florida. And that is the man you're about to meet."

"Wow, now that's a story!" Moose shook his head in disbelief. "And this Arthur guy sounds off the charts. He really said that about dance?" Chris nodded. "That's why I dance. It's all about the hope and togetherness that comes with dance. Nothing else inspires like it."

Chris nodded in appreciation. "You got it man." He glanced at Holly. "You've been uncharacteristically quiet."

"Just listening." Holly looked up from the floor. "So this boss, he anything like his great grandfather?"

"Oh god no." He shook his head. "He's stingy and constantly trying to cut classes from the curriculum. Quite surprised he wants any new staff actually."

"Really?"

"Tried to ban chips from the canteen last year because he thought they were making the dancers fat!" He twisted a finger around his ear in the widely recognised 'nuts' move. "That said, he's a pretty experienced dancer himself and despite his naturally cold demeanour, he knows his stuff."

"Great, we get to do an interview with a crazy ex-dancer trying to live failed dreams through others." Moose muttered. Chris just gave a non-committal shrug.

"Oh come on, can't you just do the interviews? This is clearly some old fogey who knows nothing about the real world whereas you seem to have some sort of grasp on reality, plus you've seen us dance, you know us." Holly looked up at Chris with wide puppy dog-like eyes. "Please?"

"No," he motioned to a hallway before them. "Right this way." As they reached a deep brown doorway with 'Head of School' written on it, Chris knocked. There was no response. "Okay, probably in a good mood as usual." He smiled back at Moose and Holly. "We'll go in anyway."

"I'm not going in there without being invited. He could kill us!" Holly exclaimed in a tone that convinced Chris she wasn't joking.

"I'll go first then. Look, just remember a few important details: heir to the throne, ex-dancer and," he held his hand out and curled his fingers like he was strangling the air. "Vice-like grip."

"I'm right, he's going to kill us."

"Just impress the boss and you've got it," Chris said with a smile.

Moose rolled his eyes. "Yeah, easy like ABC."

Chris just motioned to the door. "Let me warn him then I'll call you in." With a completely unreadable smile he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Holly glanced sideways at Moose. "Maybe you should've brushed your hair."

He cast his eyes skyward as if he were trying to look at his hair. "What do you mean? I did!"

Holly smothered a smile. "Oh, okay, yeah, I see it now." She stuck two thumbs up just as Chris called from inside. They headed in, Moose holding the door open for Holly, and saw Chris sitting behind the desk looking very much at home. "Uh, where's the boss?"

"Surprise!" Chris cried, casting his arms wide. "I'm the boss!"

Moose failed to hold back a snort as Holly just narrowed her eyes at the man behind the desk. "You said the boss was an heir to the company, an experienced dancer who runs this place with a vice-like grip. You said he was callous and somewhat unrealistic."

He held up a hand. "Hold up, I never said anything about callous and unrealistic."

"You implied it." Holly protested back. Chris glanced at Moose and the younger man nodded slowly.

"Okay fine, everything I told you was a lie, so sue me." He paused. "No, wait, don't, I can't afford it." He leant forward on the desk, crossing his arms. "Anyway Miss Given, did you not say you'd rather I did the interviews than some old fogey who, what were the words? Oh yeah, 'knows nothing about the real world'?"

"That was before I knew that you were said old fogey." Chris gave a warm smile at her biting tone. "So now what?" Holly continued. "You know us, do you really need to go through all this?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I made my decision a long time ago. You're both hired." He paused. "Really I just hate breaking bad news."

"Well, I think it's awesome that you're the boss," Moose leant forward and shook Chris' hand. "And I can't wait to work with you."

"You don't have to kiss up anymore, you already got the job." Holly muttered. Moose just shook his head and took his leave, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he went, a slight spring back in his step. As he shut the door behind him Holly looked back at Chris. "You're really the heir to this place?"

He nodded, leaning back in the armchair and putting his feet on the table. "Great grand-dad established it. He was a dancer, very different to the popping and tutting people do now though, but he knew what dance could do for people." He motioned to a black and white photo on the wall and Holly moved towards it. The man in the photo was only about her age. "It brought our family back together after a lot of heartache. At one stage there were two brothers, four cousins and an aunt working here all together." He sighed. "Of course that's all gone now. I'm the last of the Eckhardt legacy." Holly was still looking at the photos when he asked her a question. "So why do you dance?"

She looked up. "What?"

"Why do you dance? Moose dances to find hope in the world, but you never answered earlier." Holly looked at the floor. "So?"

"To escape." She didn't lift her head as she answered. "I began dancing after my mum died, it was something to do instead of just crying, and because when I was young mum used to do all the housework while listening to music. I remember her turning up the radio when I came from school and asking me to come work with her. She was a dancer," she gave a small laugh, "an absolutely atrocious one though. Couldn't hold a beat if she tried. But she did it because it was fun. When she died that was all I could remember of her, so I'd sit there and watch music videos just thinking about her, pretending she was right behind me dancing along while dusting a vase or something. She was mad my mum, completely nuts." She crossed her arms in a very defensive pose. "That's why I dance."

"So you dance for your mum?"

She shook her head. "No, I dance for me. I don't dance to impress anyone, to achieve anything; I just do it because I can. Some people can write, some can sing, some can deal with a job where all they do is sort files, but that's not me - I dance."

"I understand that," Chris nodded. "I'm absolutely atrocious at filing." He grinned and Holly broke a smile. "You start eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Go get some sleep." He flipped open a folder on his desk and starting reading it.

Holly nodded and began to leave, but turned back when she decided to ask one last thing. "Hey, why do you dance? Apart from because you're awful at filing?"

Chris shrugged. "I don't know. Probably just in the blood." Holly nodded slowly. "See you tomorrow."

"Night." Holly called back. She shut the door behind her with a soft thud.


	8. Hit Rewind and Start Again

**Disclaimer: **Step Up not mine. Music is 'Everything You Wanted' by Kele.

Chapter Seven;  
Hit Rewind and Start Again

Constance couldn't take any more. It was like watching a small animal die. Her inability to say or do the right thing was eating her up and so she decided to take the low road and shove reality right into her roommate's face. It was for her own good.

"Oh god, this is pathetic." She stepped into the living room where Camille sat on the floor up against the kitchen bench. She was pretending to read something, but the last time Constance had emerged from her room she'd been on page nine. She was on page ten now and that had been an hour ago. "What are you listening to?" Some whimpy sad music floated out of the iPod dock and Constance leaned over the counter to read it. "'Everything You Wanted'? We're doing this now Cam? We're doing the 'sad music, reminiscing in the corner' thing now?"

Camille looked up. "I don't know what you're going on about." But her tone was falsely defiant and her eyes were red from crying.

"Would you get a grip? He's not on the other side of the country Cam, he's like three hours south, and he's called you what, a hundred times?"

"That's not the point Connie and you know it. This is just like our first year at NYU, all the sneaking around and not telling me, like I didn't even matter to him at all." She stood up and flicked off the iPod. "He told me the day he was leaving! Who does that?"

"Someone who isn't particularly good with words and emotions, someone impulsive and foolhardy, borderline foolish and with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Basically, someone like Moose." Constance frowned. "Cam, what is this really about? I've never known you to be like this."

She sighed. "I don't know."

"Next time he calls would you just answer it and talk to him? Our answering machine is getting full of his messages." Constance patted her friend on the arm before turning to leave. She stopped halfway back to her room and came back for the iPod. "I'm taking this, just in case."

…

Moose's hotel room was cleaner than he liked, so when he returned he ruffled up the bed sheets and threw two clean towels onto the end in piles. It was a start at least.

Now feeling a little more at home with the place, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the messages. There was one from Ms. Sylvester telling him a boarding room at the school would be available for $50 a month if he needed it. He decided to take her up on it. He had one call from his mother asking him when graduation was happening. He opted to call her later on, when he had fully-formed his story for her, but nothing from Camille. With a sigh he threw the phone on the bed and headed for the shower.

…

Camille knew it was stupid, but typing those three numbers in before she followed it up with a very familiar cell phone number meant she could opt out without any fear of retribution. Of course if Constance knew Camille was using the call block system when she called Moose, her roommate would probably hang her out to dry.

The phone rang through to message bank however, and Camille didn't have to find out, the call ending with Moose's message.

"You've reached Robert Alexander the third, or Moose, if you please. I can't take your call right now so please leave a message after the beep."

But she didn't, just putting the phone back on the hook with a sigh.

…

Moose was certain he'd heard the phone ring when he was in the shower so when he emerged to find his phone informing him he had his heart leapt a little. With soft prayers under his breath, he pressed for more details and found it was a blocked number. Camille wouldn't block the number before she called… would she?

He hoped anyway and brought up her details. The picture beside her name was old, almost three years, but she hadn't changed much. Her hair was still that brilliant light brown, dead straight and running right down to the ends of her shoulder blades, and her cheeks still shone with that constant hint of pink, like she was persistently embarrassed. Everything about Camille was cute, but that didn't mean she was one to mess with, Moose knew that. He'd seen her bad side more than once, the fiery temper that bubbled under the surface if you pushed her too far, and his friend Erin hadn't been joking about her hanging him from her window over the streets of Manhattan.

After the eighth ring it went to her answering machine but Moose didn't relent, trying a second and third time, his heart telling him it was Camille that had called, no one else. On the fifth time he decided to leave a message.

"Hey Cammie, just got a missed call and thought maybe you didn't hate me so much anymore, well, hoped anyway. So I got the job down here. Hope you're proud of me." He paused. "I miss you."

…

'I miss you' had made Camille lift her head slowly, put Tibbles to the floor and walk over to the phone. She was about to pick it up and talk to him when he decided to ruin the moment as usual.

"It's pretty awesome down here actually. Sure, it's no New York, but in it's own interesting way."

'In it's own interesting way', in it's own 'it's not New York, it's not our place' kind of way. Cam just glared at the answering machine as he continued.

"My new boss is Chris, he's a cool guy, heir to the Eckhardt fortune or something or other," a crinkle sounded in the background and Camille could picture Moose's face as he tried to open those peppermint chocolates hotels sometimes left on your pillow. They'd gone on holidays together up to Niagara Falls back in their second year and Moose had burst into her hotel room on the first night demanding all the peppermint chocolates. Kristin hadn't handed hers over on first go so, when she went to shower, Moose stole Camille's door key and snuck in to steal it. He was constantly determined to get one-up on Kristin. "His great-grandfather was a dancer, inspirational type, reckon Jacob would like him. Luke too. Might tell him when he calls."

There was a small rip and a whew of success and Camille deemed the peppermint chocolate beaten. She was even more certain when Moose's voice came through a little muffled. She'd often chastised him for talking with his mouth full, but secretly it was part of his charm, and if he lost it then she'd truly be upset. "And this girl Holly, she and I auditioned together," Cam ignored the little green monster of jealousy screaming in her inner-ear, "she's nuts, makes everything a competition, but really great dancer. Sh…" there was a beep as the answering machine warned him he was out of time. "Be right back." He hung up and then the phone rang again, this time going straight through to the answering machine. It was Moose and he continued as if he'd never been cut off. "She's never had formal training which is pretty cool. I mean, she's not as good as me but…" he gave a laugh. "I know, I know, tabs on myself, got it."

Camille smiled a little. She often joked about his ego, told him he had tabs on himself, and the joke had become pretty constant between the two, so much so that Moose now saw it coming and mouthed along. This time the roles were reversed, Camille mouthing along as Moose finished the line with a 'tabs so heavy it's hard to walk' and she could only sigh. "Oh Moose."

"I better go, I'm leaving the hotel life behind and moving in to some school accommodation, so I should do that tonight before it gets too late. Promise to uphold your laws of hotel etiquette – steal all the soaps and shampoos." He laughed and Camille gave a tight smile. "If it was you that called then sorry I missed it. Washing my hair, you know how it is, it's hard to keep looking this good." He gave a popping sound with his lips, a sound he made when he was trying to find the right words to say. "Night Chameleon." Then, he was gone.

Reaching a hand towards the phone, Camille's hand darted between picking up the receiver and hitting the 'delete' button on the answering machine. In the end she pressed rewind and took it back to the start.

The answering machine woman came on.

"Received 16:31 June 4th 2014."

Taking a seat on the counter, ignoring Tibbles who was trying to gain her attention, Cam just closed her eyes and listened.

"Hey Cammie, just got a missed call and thought maybe you didn't hate me so much anymore…"


	9. Angel In A Butterfly Dress

**Disclaimer: **'Step Up' isn't mine. The song is 'Green Light' by Roll Deep

**A/N: **The website is up and nearly complete! Yay! Okay, so, for more on this fic visit **stepupnstepout (dot) blogspot (dot) com**

Chapter Eight;  
Angel In A Butterfly Dress

Moose flicked through the timetable, highlighting the classes he was teaching in green and those he was taking in yellow, the highlighting the height of his organisational abilities. For Moose organisation was a foreign language, somewhere in the same vicinity as a clean bedroom and long meaningful conversations with his overbearing mother, and to be honest he'd rather not go there, but since it was a beautiful afternoon he had taken himself out into the neighbourhood to search for a distraction from the silent cell phone sitting in his pocket. He found it in a local park, less a park and more a group of trees gathered around an open tiled space with a fountain in the middle. The fountain wasn't one of those large elaborate ones, little more than a few jets in a pool of water about an inch deep, but it did seem to be a gathering place for a large group of people right now, and as Moose glanced over at them he caught the eyes of the pretty brunette girl in the centre. She smiled at him before turning to the others around her. He didn't realise what was happening until he heard the music and looked up to find the group, of all things, dancing in the tiled area. They drew a crowd quickly… Moose among them.

"_Put your hands up, take it to the floor, you already gave me the green light baby." _A blonde off to the side was singing now, one foot perched on a boom box as a few guys pushed the crowd back and cleared an area between the fountain and the bystanders. It didn't take the audience long to figure out why when one of the men burst into the centre of the cleared area and started to pop and lock. But Moose's eyes were drawn to the girls now crouched in the fountain, the water splashing around them but not strong enough to soak them through. There were four, the brunette in the baby blue dress among them, and they had their heads bowed as the song continued. "_Put your glass out, pour a little more, you already gave me the green light."_

As the rapping began in the song, the girls in the fountain finally moved, flicking their hair up and out, splashing the water with fists. They raised slowly, the brunette the last up, and turned out to face the crowd. Then they began to dance, fast but deliberate movements a mix between hip hop and Bhangra Bollywood, stamping and splashing their way through the water with enough strength to make droplets hit the audience. The growing group seemed mesmerized, but as a dancer himself Moose saw beyond that, saw the true show that was going on here. It became even more apparent when the chorus started up again and the girls stepped out of the water and onto the edge of the fountain, stalking around it to the music, moving each on their own, no longer choreographed. Then, as the chorus ended, they stepped off the fountain and joined the guys on the ground. All except the brunette since they seemed to accept her as their leader. Moose became instantly wary of her as he watched the others gather around her for the dance.

"_Eight days in a week, one smile in a dream." _As they others breaked, each lower to the ground than the brunette, she just gave a hip hop roll and head toss, nonchalantly playing along as the guys on the ground around her to their chance to act overcome by her appearance. She loved the attention – that much was plain to see. "_I say a couple words and she might be a lynx_." A flick of her hair and a shift in her stance brought her resting heavily on her right leg. She held out her left hand for the next line. "_I like the fact she ain't wearing a ring and she ain't looking at him_." Two of the guys on the ground pretended to fight over her, rolling one over the other in a move Moose had seen done better before by the Santiago twins. "_We're a perfect match, what a good catch. She's ten out of ten, I have gotta keep at it_." She turned away now, another dramatic hair flick as she went, and raised herself onto the edge of the fountain again, crossing her arms and looking down at her fellow dancers. "_She's so far gone, the green light's on, I ain't gonna turn back, it's a wrap_…"

The blonde began the chorus again and now the brunette was alone on the fountain, once again the centre of attention, she took the lead. "_Stop, take a look, left and right, is it clear for me to go?_" Tracing one finger down her right cheek, she raised her head to look over the crowd, pushing her face to the left and then back to the right before turning to strut over to another part of the fountain. "_Let me know, is it me that you've been waiting for?" _At this she leaned towards an unsuspecting young man in the audience who had been watching on with all the self-control of a desperately hungry puppy. He nearly died as her finger came within an inch of his face before she turned and strode away again. "_Put your hands up, take it to the floor, you already gave me the green light baby_." Keeping her legs apart for balance, she raised her left hand lazily into the air and then traced it across her and all the way down her right leg until she touched the fountain. Then, just as before, she walked to another spot. "_Put your glass out, pour a little more, you already gave me the green light_." Both hands out this time, she leant forward and then back quickly, dropping her left and waving her right along, rolling it down to her side for a click before moving on again. "_Put your hands up, take it to the floor, you already gave me the green light baby. Put your glass out, pour a little more, you already gave me the green light_." She repeated the moves again for two more parts of the audience, catching Moose's eye again as she passed for the next line. She gave him a wink and his eyes fell to the ground. "_Stop, pop, don't drop_." One hand held out in a 'stop' movement, she caught it for 'pop', waved both hands around her head and then reached down and slapped the ground. She repeated it two more times as the line was repeated, again on different parts of the fountain, before the three other girls rejoined her. They stepped back into the fountain itself for the last line. "_Don't wanna see red now flash your green light tonight_." At this they all dropped to their haunches, hit the water one last time for the final dramatic burst of H2O, then fell onto their backs. The crowd burst in raucous applause as Moose slipped away, the image of the brunette girl in the blue dress stuck in his mind. He needn't have tried to remember her face, for she appeared at his side only a few moments later, towelling her face and hair dry as she tried to squeeze water from her blue sequined butterfly dress at the same time.

"Haven't seen you around here before."

Moose came to a stop, allowing her a chance to really go at her hair, the wet strands sticking out at fuzzed-up angle as she pulled the towel away. Not that he could judge anyone on their hair but still, she looked ridiculous and Moose motioned back to the fountain lazily. "You always dance in fountains?"

"It's fun, you should try it." She smiled and held out a hand. "I'm Erika."

He shook it. "Moose."

She gave him a look and for second Moose wondered if he was about to be recognised, then she seemed to shake it off and just smiled. "You a dancer Moose?" He wasn't much of a liar so he stayed quiet, just giving a brief shrug. "Well, you're in the right place if you are. They say New York is the dance capital of America, but they lie, because secretly it's right here." She smiled, motioning up to a building nearby. It was a large dark building towering over many of the other low-lying ones in the street. It must have been about ten stories high, five times bigger than Eckhardt. "That's Atherton, the best dance school in Philadelphia, and that's where I and my friends (he avoided correcting her horrible grammar) learn to dance. Well, in my case, simply master the skills we already have." She looked up at the place fondly. "It's pretty much the only place around here worth noting."

"What about Eckhardt Academy?" Moose asked, keen both for clarification and also because he liked the look on her face when he mentioned it. It was a mixture of disgust and horror.

"Where did you say you were from again?"

"I didn't."

"Eckhardt is an embarrassment to dance. Embarrassment to Pennsylvania actually." She gave a cold smile. "Now, don't get me wrong, Eckhardt has it's place as a feeder school, taking people from novice to slightly less novice, but there comes a point in everyone's career where Eckhardt's skill-level is far too low. From what I can see, that point is where dancers are able to differentiate their left from their right."

"Really?" Moose smiled softly as he realised what he'd walked himself right into – dance academy wars. It was like the Pirates vs. the Samurais all over again. Why did he have a knack for wandering into the battle zones? And this Erika, whoever she was, was clearly one of Atherton's many warriors. "So they're not a threat to Atherton at all?"

"Oh god no. Long term residents at Eckhardt fall into two categories - try-hards and no talents." She finally saw the timetable still held in Moose's hand. "You're a student there aren't you?" Moose gave an unapologetic shrug. "Well, if you're any good, you should come to Atherton. Some of the best dancers in the state have passed through those doors and soon enough they'll have an Elite dancer to add to their name."

"A what?"

Erika raised an eyebrow. "The Elite Dance Crew from San Francisco, they won 'America's Best Dance Crew' three years ago?" Moose nodded briefly. He'd heard of them. "Two members dropped out last month and they'll be holding a competition for two new ones. The winner gets $50,000 and a spot in the crew." She smiled, motioning to herself. "It's mine in the bag."

"Oh, so anyone can compete?" It was a backhanded insult that Erika missed.

"Only real competitors of course. If you join Atherton, you're in with a real chance, as for Eckhardt, well, they don't gave passes to financial ruins." Moose gave a heavy frown at this and Erika nodded. "Maybe you should talk to your headmaster, that Barry guy,"

"Chris Barry," Moose corrected.

"Yeah, him. Eckhardt's in financial trouble, the developers are coming and the bank could sell the school from under him at any moment, everyone knows this. You're clearly very new to town."

"A few days." Moose looked back in the direction of Eckhardt but from the park he couldn't see it, just frowning down the street in its direction. As he looked he sensed Erika's eyes on him and turned back to find her frowning at him. "What?"

"I can't shake the feeling I know you Moose." She narrowed her eyebrows. "Where are you from?"

"New York." Her eyes widened at that, but he was already contemplating heading back to the school and talking to Chris. "I have to go. Nice to meet you Erika." Then, shoving his timetable in his pocket, Moose jogged off. Watching him go, Erika just crossed her arms with a frown, already wondering where to start looking for this mysterious but familiar Moose.


	10. You, Me and Who We Know

**Disclaimer: **'Step Up' isn't mine. Song is 'Feeling Myself' by Nipsey Hussle.

**A/N: **Extra special shout-out to MissHMalfoy for saying Erika was like Sophie. That made my day because well, I was hoping you'd hate her! She'll be back in this chapter. And to all my other awesome reviewers; I'd name you but you know who you are and I 'heart' you all! ;)

Also to Kenny Wormald for not only supplying Chris with a face but also with this dance. I stole it straight out of a lesson he gave at the Millennium Dance Complex. Find it on Google, just search 'Kenny Wormald' and look for the four-minute video. I have to confess it took me about an hour to learn. I'm losing it!

Chapter Nine;  
You, Me and Who We Know

_I'm feeling myself, I'm feeling myself…_

The blonde took two steps out of the darkness and into the lighter half of the room, staring back at the reflection in the mirror. Her hair hadn't always been so light, once a dirty-blond, but years in the sun had made it brighter. Escaping into sport and running had been how Holly dealt with her life. She guessed it was much better than any other option – at least her escape was healthy.

As the music started up she lifted one hand into the air slowly, waving along in a Bollywood type move that raised her arm straight up and then brought it back down beside her. She breathed in deep and then the beat picked up and she lifted her arm to a right angle, sliding sideways and falling into a clap. Pushing her hands straight down flat, parallel to the ground, she raised herself up on her toes before jumping back, crossing her arms over her and snapping them wide. Now looking like that eager 'spirit fingers' coach from that old movie Bring It On, she gave a quick spin, jumping out of it into a crouch, smacking her knees with her fists before jumping straight up into a soldier position again. Putting her right hand to her chest, she moved her hips left and her shoulders right, a robot-like move she'd seen once, swapping it back and forth three times before pushing back on her chest so she jumped backwards as if pushed. Raising her right foot she smacked it with the palm of her left hand and then stomped it to the ground, gave a brief heel and toe slide and then twisted into two full rotations. But on the second rotation something appeared in her way.

"Oh, Chris, hi." Holly took a few steps back, frowning at him. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." He crossed his arms. "You didn't mention you did hip hop."

Holly shook her head. "I don't. I was just messing around." She picked up her water bottle. "It's not what I'm trained in."

Chris frowned. "You're not trained in anything, remember?"

Swallowing quickly she gave a wry smile. "You know what I mean." She shrugged. "Blonde, white girls from the suburbs don't do hip hop."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Where does it say that in the handbook?" She gave him a frown. "You can do whatever you want to do, there's no rules of the street; hip hop is a way of mind, not a look. Maybe you should try doing it your way instead."

"That's deep." Holly bit back a smile.

"I'm an ex-street dancer. Ex-college student too but let's not bring that one up." He motioned to himself. "I'm a blonde white guy from the right side of town. If I can do it, you can too."

"You're a street dancer? You know, when you said you were an ex-dancer, I had you down as ballet or jazz or something contemporary."

Chris smiled. "I'm secretly a rebel without a cause."

"Okay then, show me what you've got."

He raised his eyebrows and turned away just as the song started to pick up again.

_Yeah, yes, yo, I got the money and respect yo…_

Hitting the floor onto his knees, Chris turned with a spin, landing with one leg up off to the side. In three counts he brought it forward, bouncing it along until it was level with the other. Smacking it with his fist, he lowered it so both knees were on the ground again and then jumped up first onto his toes and then back onto his feet. He stepped out on his right foot then, waving his arm out before curling it back in, lowering himself into a crouch. Lowering his left arm down to meet his right, he shot up and back onto his toes. Holly watched on with a slight frown, unaware before now that he could dance like this at all. It was like the feeling you got when you realised Santa Clause wasn't real – somehow you knew but at the same time you didn't want to hear it.

Kicking his knee up, he stepped out and spun, slapping his back foot with his hand before lowering into a pop and jump. At this he took a second to grin at Holly in a look that said 'so, how am I doing?' before he continued, dropping his left foot behind his right then stepping out with his right and pushing down. Facing right he waved his arms up and down like some oversized monster mouth before dropping into two points forward and ending on his toes. Waving his arms in front of him like some bizarre table washer, he twisted himself to the left, executed another turn then landed on his toes again before falling back onto his heels with a grin in Holly's direction.

Holly straightened her shirt. "Impressive. Now, try and keep up."

Tugging at her shirt, Holly raised herself onto her toes and took two jumps sideways. Chris watched for a moment as she fell back onto her left heel, raising her right foot into the air, before following on, copying her moves a few seconds after her. As she landed on her right toes she pushed forward with her right fist, punching the air in front of her then turned, coming face to face with Chris. Giving her a quick nod, he dropped one arm to the ground and, grabbing his left sneaker, stood on that hand for a moment before tipping off-balance and landing back on his feet. Meanwhile Holly had shimmied herself to the ground too, now leaning on one foot as the other stretched out sideways, heel perched on the ground and toes straight in the air. Chris appeared behind Holly in the mirror and she held a hand up, Chris expertly pulling her to her feet before spinning her and letting her land, legs apart and hands to her knees. She left it a second as Chris jumped into the same position before she arched her arms wide over her head, raised her left foot, and smacked her foot with the falling hands. She dropped the foot onto the heel, wiggled the foot twice and then dragged it back towards the other so she was standing straight again. Then, brushing her shoulders and plucking at her shirt like she was picking things off it, she turned in towards Chris, expecting him to do the same move.

That was when the chorus ended.

As Holly snapped out of the song's control she found herself mere inches away from Chris, his arm curled around her waist. She slid from his grasp quickly and he straightened up, frowning at her. "What?"

"Nothing." She reached over and turned the song off. "Just, uh," she paused then frowned back up at him. "What are we doing?"

Chris looked sideways for a second, clearly confused as to what the question actually meant and then crossed his arms again, this time somewhat defensively. "Look, Holly, I…"

"Why did you hire me Chris? I'm not as talented as Moose, I'm an awful teacher, none of the kids listen to me, and this," she motioned between them. "What is this?"

"I don't know." Chris finally admitted after a long pause.

They were both quiet for a long time and then Holly forced out the sentence she'd been editing in her head since she first met Chris. She hadn't wanted to say it, but from the second she walked into that audition and felt a pull towards the scruffy-looking dancer, she thought she might. She hadn't known then that he was her boss, so now she trod carefully. "I don't need a relationship right now Chris, not of any sort, my life is messy enough as it is."

He nodded slowly. "You're right." He turned away, preparing to leave, and then stopped. "I didn't hire you just because I thought you were gorgeous, or because you made me smile. I hired you because I saw, the minute you walked into that audition, how much you wanted… no, needed, to be here and I understood that. Eckhardt is my home, the only place that's ever really been mine, but there are so many things out there ready to take it away." He sighed, looking at the floor. "Eckhardt can be your home too, if that's what you want, as long as it's still here that is." And then he left, not giving Holly a chance to ask what he meant by 'as long as it's still here', but she didn't really need to, quietly knowing all good things would come to an end eventually. As the door to the room snapped shut, Holly just bit her lip and looked at the floor.

…

"You should've seen this girl right," Moose started up as soon as the answering machine came on, no longer put off by the beep, he was used to it by now. "All pomp and circumstance type. Anyway, according to her, Eckhardt is in financial trouble." He frowned even though Camille couldn't see it. "She might be lying of course, but why? I mean, apart from being a girl from Atherton." He paused. "Gosh, you should see this place Cam, it's huge even from the outside. Another snobby dance school by the looks of it. But if that's Eckhardt's competition then it's no wonder my new hip hop class only has ten students."

Moose pushed at the small cup of chips he'd brought to his room for dinner. He'd been unable to find Chris that evening and Holly was being about as welcoming as an angry tortoise, so he'd decided on dinner in his room. His new room at the school was already a mess, had been from the moment Moose paid Ms. Sylvester his money and moved in. He'd 'Moose-ified' the place. At least, that was how Camille had described her flat after Moose had stayed there for two days when his dorm at NYU had to be sprayed for bugs (seemed his rat-like freak of a room mate had let an experiment go too far!). He hadn't been allowed to stay long at her place after that.

"What if she is right and the school's in trouble?" He stood up from his desk and sat down on his bed. "I bet if you were here you'd find a hundred solutions." He paused, hoping Camille was there and she'd now decide to pick up the phone. "Okay, I'll call same time tomorrow. Night Cam." Hanging up he fell back against his bed with a sigh.

…

Google was the obvious start, even if typing 'Moose' and 'New York' into the search engine seemed like a fast track to getting herself a bunch of stories about elk gone wild in the Big Apple. It wasn't until she got to the second page that she found it. It was an old article from a New York dance magazine doing a story on the World Jam. With a frown Erika clicked through and up came the full story, picture included. She pressed print.

Turning off the computer she collected up the three pages of article and sat down in her brother's office chair, putting her feet up on his desk and scanning the page. She found the name on the second page; the reason Google had found the article in the first place.

"'Better known as 'Moose', Robert Alexander III helped lead the Pirates to victory. DanceJam caught up with Moose after the show and he told us how it was all one big mistake at first.'" Erika read off the page. She frowned. "Fantastic."

"What's fantastic?" Erika glanced up to find her brother standing in the doorway. "Apart from me that is." He popped his collar with a grin that fell quickly when he saw Erika's face. "What?"

"Guess who I ran into at Riggers Park this afternoon?" Erika turned the page over to show the Pirates. She tapped the image of Moose. "Moose Alexander, lead dancer for the New York Pirates, World Jam winners two years in a row." She raised her eyebrows. "Turns out he's in Philadelphia."

Paul frowned at the photo for a moment and then it seemed to dawn on him. "Eckhardt." He crossed his arms. "I didn't know Barry had the pull." Erika shrugged. "I knew he was hiring but this? This is bad."

"It gets worse," Erika said, making that face she only made when she'd stuffed up big time. "I might have mentioned the Elite dance competition to him."

Paul's jaw fell. "Ricky!" He shook his head and held up a hand. "Okay, fine, it's fine…" he paused. "If we get him to Atherton it'll be great." He gave a sly smile. "We better get to work if we're going to do this." He held out a hand and waved his fingers towards himself. "Phonebook. I have to call in a favour."


	11. The Little Things We Need

**A/N: **This chapter is dedicated to littlestpanda92 for writing the nicest PM I have EVER received. It made me grin for hours. I've been writing for 11 years, multiple fictions, and I've never had one like this. Proving that Step Up fans are the best ones out there!

Chapter Ten;  
The Little Things We Need

"Hey Grumpy-Bum." Holly glanced up from the floor as she heard Moose's voice. "What a lovely day for sitting in a dark corner of the school all alone and looking like your cat has just been run over by a semi-trailer."

"You fail at sarcasm Chewbacca." She pushed herself off the ground and ruffled his hair. "Plus a little birdie told me you walked out of your class this morning for no reason whatsoever." She waved her hands to usher him closer. "If there's a problem you can tell Aunty Holly."

"I got a call from my girlfriend's home phone." Holly shrugged not understanding why that warranted leaving a class. "You don't get it, she NEVER calls, doesn't even answer her phone when I call."

"Sounds like a perfectly normal relationship." He shrugged back. "So if she never calls, what was this then?"

"Her room-mate. Apparently she found a pair of my sneakers there and wanted to know what I wanted to do with them. They were packing for a holiday." He frowned. "My girlfriend told her to burn them but her friend was a little more reasonable."

"Wow, animosity." She narrowed her eyebrows. "What the hell did you do?"

"Coming here set her off, though I have a very strong feeling that wasn't the only reason, so now I'm stuck talking to her answering machine every time I call. It's been over a week." They fell into silence for a moment before Holly spoke again.

"And this is why I don't do relationships."

"I thought that was because no one was interested." Moose grinned.

She lowered an eyebrow at him. "Be quiet Mister. The man whose girlfriend won't answer his calls can't throw stones."

"Touché." He glanced around. "So this relationship drought has nothing to do with a certain boss of ours does it?" She glared again. "Okay, okay, I'll stop talking as soon as you tell me where he is."

She motioned towards his office. "I heard him on the phone in there not five minutes ago. He didn't sound happy though so tread careful."

"After your welcoming mood I could take on a T-Rex right now and still come out looking good." He brushed some imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Good luck with the whole 'old spinster with cats thing'."

"Same to you and your one-sided conversations with an answering machine." Moose grinned and walked off towards Chris' office. Frowning a little at his departing figure, Holly pursed her lips. "Remember what your mother said Holly Given – meddling only gets you burned." She smiled to herself. "Too bad mom forgot I was a secret pyromaniac." Shoving her hands in her pockets, Holly headed in the direction of the dorms.

…

Chris looked up from his files as three distinct taps came upon his door. "Come on in Moose." Moose pushed open the door a bit and grinned in.

"Busy?"

Chris shook his head. "Not with anything I want to be busy with. I'd love the excuse to ignore it so please, come give me one."

"It's about this girl…" Moose started, shutting the door.

"Oh right, one of those. Okay, well, though I thought you were past the relationships talk Moose…"

Moose cut over him. "Dude, really?" He noticed Chris grinning like an idiot and took a seat in the chair opposite his desk. "You're hilarious. Anyway, I met her at that park near Atherton, she's a student there."

"Oh yeah, them. Did I mention the rivalry when you first came here?" Moose shook his head. "It's not a nice story."

"Let me guess – you and the owner were once friends but you fell out?"

Chris scoffed. "Oh god no. In fact, I barely know the Moore family. Paul Moore, the owner, is the biggest jerk in Philadelphia, that's all I'm certain of. Apart from that, it's all academic. The history is simple: Eckhardt once had complete control of the dance academy scene in Philadelphia. We were the top of the game. Then my uncle got an offer, one he apparently couldn't refuse, from a man named Richard Moore. Can you see where this is going?"

"He refused so Richard set up Atherton as a direct rival?" Moose guessed.

"Give the man a gold star." He gave Moose a golf clap. "Anyway, they brought with them some big names for teachers, some of the best names in the business, put on shows and won awards. When Richard passed the business on to his children it didn't end there. Paul made sure we were disadvantaged at every available opportunity. When we went looking for new students, he followed. Followed us all the way to the first World Jam actually."

"You were there?" Moose asked.

Chris nodded. "Recruiting. That's where I saw you for the first time. Didn't expect to be your boss one day but that's life for you." He paused. "So who was this girl?"

"Erika something."

Chris nodded slowly, a look of comprehension dawning on his face. "Of course. About 5'7, long brown hair, nose turned up like something that smells really bad has nestled on her top lip?" Moose nodded. "Erika Moore, Paul's little sister. She's a wolf in sheep's clothing that one. Looks all sweet and angelic but one wrong move and you're a dead man."

"I'm not interested in her, I have a girlfriend, I think." Moose paused. "Anyway, she said some stuff about Eckhardt."

"She's also a compulsive liar."

"So it's not true Eckhardt's in financial trouble?"

Chris paused. "Oh, right," he shook his head. "No that, that is, completely true." He ruffled through a file and pulled out a sheet of paper. "This is how much we owe the bank." Moose read the letter and noted it was a little under $35,000. "There's been a serious downturn of students lately, they're all headed to Atherton it seems, so we can't keep up with the bills. Had to take out a second mortgage on the place. Even then we're not keeping on top. You may have noticed that this place is falling down around us."

"They're going to take the school?"

Chris shook his head. "It'll take a lot to do that, I do keep up with the payments barely, but if something big happens; it's only a matter of time before the roof in the cafeteria caves in or a window falls out, and then we're behind. When that happens, then we're gone. We're teetering on the edge here, that's for sure."

"Are our jobs safe?"

Chris sighed. "I can't assure my own job so no, I can't assure yours, but while I'm here, you and all the other staff will be too." Moose looked at the floor. "I wish the news were better."

"I'll just make sure to tread a little more carefully around the place now, to ensure I don't knock anything else off the walls, break anything." Chris grinned at Moose's response. "That's all the secrets right?"

"The other secret is – the mashed potato in the cafeteria is packet mashed potato, not real potatoes."

"It's not a secret if everyone knows." He grinned and stood up. "I'll leave you to your work."

"Thanks." Chris held up a finger. "Oh if you see Holly, tell her I need to see her, about one of her classes."

"Yeah, she'll love that." Chris frowned. "She's at the end of the hall right now but I think she's avoiding you. What did you do?"

Chris shrugged. "Wish I knew. Women eh?"

"Don't ask me to explain them to you." Moose pulled open the office door before he glanced up quickly. "Oh, another thing, Erika mentioned something called the Elite dance competition. What is it?" Chris shrugged. "Well, she said there was prize money. $50,000."

Chris smiled slowly. "Really?" He gave Moose a quick nod. "I'll find out more about this and get back to you. Nice work Afroman." Pushing at his hair with a grin, Moose left Chris' office as Chris turned to his computer and started the search.

…

Holly glanced around the corner doing her very best Mission Impossible impersonation, practically humming the theme under her breath, grinning stupidly as she did it. She knew perfectly well she could've just walked down the hallway like a normal person, her room was right across the hall from his after all and no one would think any different, but it was more fun this way. Reaching his door she tried the handle and almost cheered when it slid open. Typical Moose. With a slight chuckle she pushed it open a little wider and slid inside. What greeted her was nothing less than a mess and she crinkled her nose in disgust. How he'd managed to make the place look like a bomb site after only a few days she couldn't believe but trod carefully nonetheless, making her way over to his study desk. She found what she was looking for under two notebooks and a sketchpad. Contact sheets.

Chris had asked them to fill in contact sheets a few days before, emergency contacts in case anything happened, and Moose had yet to hand his in. It was this inability to tell the time and date that Holly was banking on when she went in search of the elusive phone number. She found it third on the list behind his parents and his father's work number.

His girlfriend.

With another grin, Holly copied the number into her phone and put the contact sheet back where she'd found it, slipping out of his room and into her own. As she took a seat on her nice, clean bed, she made the call.

On the third ring it picked up.

"Constance Hardgraves."

"Hi Constance. You don't know me but my name's Holly Given and I work with Moose Alexander. Could I talk to his girlfriend please?"

**

* * *

A/N: **We're at the halfway point ladies and jellyspoons! Coming up in the second half will be a few more complicated dance scenes, plenty of music, a reunion, more Atherton drama, a dance competition and many more hair jokes for Moose to enjoy! Hope you're liking it. If you have anything to say then do it now since there's only ten more chapters for me to throw in what you want. So, if you haven't reviewed yet, or have but have been too scared to tell me what you really think, fire away now. I promise I won't set Holly on you if it's constructive criticism! ;)

BTW, how awesome was Alyson Stoner in the new episode of House? Totally didn't buy her as a fourteen-year-old but still, she made coughing up blood look totally classy! Having a very Alyson week this week since Camp Rock 2 airs Saturday. Can't wait. Hopefully gives me some inspiration for the upcoming return of Camille… whoops, did I just give something away? lol. I think not…


	12. The Night Life

**Disclaimer: **'Step Up' isn't mine. Song is 'All Night Long' by Alexandra Burke feat. Pitbull.

**A/N: **I apologize for the delay and for the one about to come because: it's Bathurst time. The Bathurst 1000 is the biggest and toughest race in the entire world and, as Sydney's #1 female rev-head (I will fight ANYONE for that title and still win) I am headed up there this evening for some horsepower awesomeness. Next update will be mid next week so until then, enjoy fire… (lol, I am a pyromaniac too, go figure!)

Chapter Eleven;  
The Night Life

_All night, all night, so tell the DJ to play it…_

Moose was so caught up in his phone that he didn't even realise he was about to walk into a wall, saved at the last moment by a guy walking past who gave him a slight shove, a laugh to his mate about the 'zoned out dude' and went on his way. Moose glanced up from the device to find himself outside a bright and busy bar named 'The Place', a pretentious name that seemed to attract almost every young person in Philadelphia despite it's need to oversell itself. For a second he considered walking on, going back to the school to watch TV or something, but then he remembered why he'd left in the first place – to avoid thinking about Camille again. Going out had seemed like the best idea so he'd found the only shirt he owned that hadn't been on the dorm room floor yet and left the school. He regretted it five minutes later when he realised how cold it was outside. Even in the middle of summer Philadelphia froze.

The bar looked warm too.

"Oh what the hell?" He muttered to himself before walking in to the brightly lit room. The lights and loud music seemed to daze him for a second but then he looked up at the dance floor and all the people on it. The DJ was loudly blasting a Pitbull song he'd heard once but he paid it no heed when his eyes fell upon the tall, thin brunette drawing attention to herself in the middle of the floor. Moose groaned. Why couldn't he avoid her?

He was going to turn and walk back out when a girl walked past and bumped him by accident, knocking his phone from his hand. It clattered to the floor and the girl stopped, turning to pick it up and hand it back to him with an apologetic smile. She had the same coloured hair as Camille.

Glaring at the phone he remembered what this was all about. He may as well use this moment to forget about it. Plus, he noticed, all beers on tap were three dollars. So, pulling himself away from the sight of the dance floor, he opted for a drink.

…

Security hadn't been high on Chris' list of things when he was buying up for Eckhardt. It was common knowledge that the place was usually quite open. Anyone could come in and walk the halls during the day, albeit seen since the place was always busy with kids coming in and out from classes, school and their social lives, and even at night it was quite loud and open. It wasn't until well after eleven that things started to die down. It was quarter-past eleven when Holly emerged from the girl's shower room, sporting a fluffy pink robe and bare feet, and headed for her dorm room. Security hadn't worried Holly so far. You needed a swipe card to access the dorms section of the school and only the teachers had keys to the classrooms, but the place didn't have high fences or security cameras. None of this had even rated a mention in Holly's mind until now. Some areas of Philadelphia were high in crime, but this wasn't the badlands or the high society side, this was just somewhere in the middle, and here people looked out for their neighbours as best they could. Crime here was just like every other normal, suburban-like area – just average.

It was why no one expected the four young men who slipped into the school that night and broke the two outside windows for the ground level ballet room. Why no one noticed them slip inside and set alight a small pile of clothing and training mats left inside the room. And no one saw them slip back out again as the fire grew and grew.

Half asleep, her headphones still stuck in her ears, Holly sat bolt upright when the screech of the alarm came through. Tossing her iPod away, she jumped out of bed and headed for the door.

…

Unaware of what was happening back at the school, Moose was caught up in trying to avoid the attention of the figure on the dance floor, planning on making his way over to the bar to grab a drink before sliding into the nearest dark corner and simply watching.

He wasn't quick enough.

"Hey, come dance."

Moose glanced sideways at the girl. She was sporting another short dress like the one he'd first seen her in, this time a lot more tight-fitting and sparkly. She knew how to draw eyes on her, that was for sure, but right now Moose deemed avoidance his best response to her advances. "No thanks, I need a drink." Motioning to the bartender, who ignored him, he took a seat figuring now that moving to a dark corner would only be taken as the kind of invitation he didn't want to offer her.

"No problems." Erika lifted herself up onto the bar beside him and brought her feet up onto the stool, resting her arms lazily against her knees and leaning forward with just the right amount of suggestive. "So, what brings you here Moose?"

"Circumstance." He glanced at his phone one last time and then shut it and pushed it into his pocket. He watched as Erika motioned to the barman and the guy nodded, fixing her a drink.

"Well, I should thank circumstance then." She smiled a brilliant smile but Moose didn't move an inch, his attention still focused on the lump of his phone in his pocket. The barman placed a drink down next to Erika and she picked it up, sipping from the straw just a little noisily.

Moose frowned. "Are you old enough to drink that?"

She winked. "No, but I know people." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "I hope this doesn't come across as weird, but I did some research on you Moose." She slapped the paper down and pressed it flat. "You're famous."

"It's alright, I asked about you too."

She grinned. "Wow, it's hard to not feel flattered by that!"

"You're Erika Moore. Your brother owns Atherton."

"And you're Moose, lead dancer for the famous New York Pirates, winners of the World Jam two years in a row." She held out a hand. "Now we're formally introduced."

He ignored her hand. "I'm not joining Atherton miss Moore, but thanks for asking."

Her eyebrows narrowed and the fake smile quickly disappeared. "If you know about me then you also know Atherton is the best school in the state. We take in dancers that are so far above schools like Eckhardt that they struggle for relevance." She smiled proudly. "Thanks to our school I am the best dancer under 20 in the state and it's only a matter of time before I'm the best in America." She paused. "The best aside from you of course. Who could possibly forget your stand-out performance at the World Jam three years ago?" She flicked her hair off her face. "My brother and I were there you know? Poaching young dancers. You'd be shocked how many young people pointed up at you and said 'I want to dance like him'." She leant forward and lowered her voice like she was about to tell him a big secret. "You're an inspiration."

"Well, thanks, but like I said before, I just want to teach and at Eckhardt I can do that."

She shook her head slowly. "How old are you Moose? 21? 22?"

"22."

"22 is not too old to win championships. Teaching is for old people like my brother who are so far past dancing that they don't even know their left from their right anymore. You've got what dancers strive for Moose, that 'born to dance' style, so don't confine it to the classroom. At Atherton you can return to the top."

"No offence miss Moore but this is pointless. I'm not leaving Eckhardt, no matter what happens."

She hopped off the bar with a shrug. "Okay, point made." She pulled a card from her pocket and put it down on top of the piece of paper. "When you change your mind, call me." Then, with one last fake smile, she disappeared into the dancing crowd. Moose scrunched up the card and pushed it into a half-empty glass of water nearby before he glanced at the printout she'd left behind. A picture of the Pirates at the World Jam, the first ever, looked back at him. Luke, Jacob, Cable and the others stared back. But what stood out most was his silver-hat figure at the front and beside him, his arm wound around her shoulder, was Camille. With a sigh Moose refolded the paper and stuck it in his pocket.

…

Once the place was clear and the kids were marshaled out of the way by Ms. Sylvester, Holly joined Chris, stepping lightly to avoid dripping walls and puddles where the fire hoses had made their mark. "What's lost?" She asked, surveying the mess from a distance. The bright yellow tape showed she could go no closer without risking her own safety.

"The ballet room and the wall to the cafeteria. The firies say it's structurally unsound. They reckon the roof will cave in any minute." Chris sighed heavily. "Could you find Moose? Tell him what's happened?"

"He hit the town tonight, to, you know, forget about his girlfriend ditching him."

"Right, yeah, well, give him a call anyway, see what he's doing. I'd like to talk to everyone all together when I get back from the police station. I need to go make a statement tonight." Holly nodded as he wandered off, pulling his phone out and dialing. She was about to turn and say something to him when she realized he'd gone from the hall. Taking one last look at the mess, she followed him to the hall outside his office where he stood, his phone to his ear and his voice hushed but desperate. "…yes, I know it's late but it's important. The school's been attacked. Arson. We've lost the main ballet room and the cafeteria." Holly frowned, assuming he was talking to the insurance provider. Holly had realized some time ago that Chris was personally involved with his insurance agent, obviously because of the financial problems Moose had informed her of that afternoon, not because he was the type as she'd assumed earlier. "We haven't got the money to fix it. I need to access the insurance as soon as possible. Is there any way to fast track the waiting period? It's the main ballet room and without the cafeteria our boarders have nowhere to eat." A pause as the insurance agent spoke. "How much are we covered for?" He slumped and Holly realized it wasn't good. "That's nowhere near enough. We don't have anything else; we can barely keep up with repayments as it is. If we cut anything else we won't be able to run water." His voice strained from anguish as he continued. "Well, you're my financial advisor, what do you suggest?" What came next made Holly's frown deepen. "We just hired them." She took a step back as he figured she was being spoken about. "Their classes have only just started – we haven't given it a chance yet." He sighed as the advisor spoke. "Yeah, thanks, yeah, got to speak to the police. I'll call you back in the morning." He hung up and Holly ducked around the corner as he turned and entered his office.

With a sigh, Holly fished out her phone and rang Moose. After a pause he answered, his voice sporting a defeated tone. "Moose? You better come back to the school now." He muttered something. "Yes, right now." She hung up then, tired and short with Moose but not minding in the least, and glanced back at Chris' closed door. "Of all the weekends too." Then, pocketing her phone, Holly headed to the front doors to meet up with Moose.


	13. Trains and Pains

**Disclaimer: **'Step Up' isn't mine. The song is 'Yeah Yeah' by Bodyrox feat. Luciana

**A/N: **BATHURST WAS EPIC! Just saying. A car rolled on the first lap! From then on… awesome madness. Also loving the Commonwealth Games right now. So yes, I've gone sports mad, forgive me for slow updates…

On another note: The Chilean miners are out! I've been glued to the screen for the last day. How brilliant was that? I hope they all sue and make 10 million dollars from it! ;) 

Chapter Twelve;  
Trains and Pains

Moose glanced up from the floor at the sound of the announcer calling his train running ten minutes late. His sighing drew the attention of the girl next to him. "What now?"

Holly was rubbing the back of her hand nervously as she asked, neither eager to address what lay ahead. For Moose he was going back to New York if Camille would talk to him, otherwise it was home to his parents, and to be honest that kind of embarrassment made him feel sick to his stomach. "I don't know." He glanced at her. "Back to your dad?"

Holly shrugged. "I thought about it but decided to take my chance in New York. Bright lights and all that. Empire State of Mind." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, and when it fell away she remained depressed.

"Well, there's a great dance program at NYU, if you need somewhere to go." Moose gave a soft smile.

"What would you know college drop-out?" Holly joked. He grinned. "At least this way you can go back and graduate!"

"Silver linings and all that." He dropped his chin onto his fist. "Who would try and burn down a school though?"

Holly sighed. "If I knew that for certain, I'd go kill them, steal their money and then re-open the school. But I don't."

"For certain?" Moose frowned, glancing sideways at her.

She didn't answer but suddenly looked up with a grin. "You hear that?" Moose frowned and then strained to listen. Music. "Bodyrox. I love this song." She jumped up onto the seat and looked around, eventually spotting the guy with the iPod speakers sitting beside him. "Hey!" She waved eagerly to grab his attention. He finally looked up. "Hey, turn it up!" With a soft frown he eventually did and Holly began to dance, launching herself over the back of the bench with one hand then belly-dancing her way off the floor, singing along as she danced.

"_You think you got it all worked out_?" Rotating with one leg over the body in a gymnastics move called 'the Illusion', Holly grinned as she came back to both feet, pulling at her three-quarters track pants as if making sure they weren't ripped by the move. "_But you don't know nothing, nothing, nothing!_" She gave a comical shrug as she came up with pants all in one piece and Moose laughed. She did a full spin before the next line and came to a stop behind Moose. "_You think that you can rub me out_?" Tapping him on his left shoulder he turned left and she ducked right, repeating the move for his right shoulder before rubbing his head like she was scratching a cat for 'rub me out'. "_But I'm made of something, something, something_." She span again, around the bench this time, before jumping up onto the empty bench opposite and standing tall, rubbing at her shoulders as if brushing dust off. "_I can teach you a thing or two_." She pointed at Moose then gave a full spin on her right heel and jumped back to the floor, sitting down on the bench. Moose stood up on the bench he was sitting on, pushing his bag to the floor. "_I can teach you a thing or two_." He span like Holly did then moonwalked across the bench. Holly cheered and clapped. "_I can teach you a thing or two_." She jumped back up on the bench then, springing onto her hands, gave three steps across the bench before falling back onto her feet. "_I can teach you a thing or two_." Then, stepping up onto the armrest at the end of the bench, she jumped off, kicking her legs up behind her and fell to her knees, her head dropping so her hair fell over her face. With a grin she flicked back her hair and looked up at Moose. "Your turn."

Moose had an answer for her then, raising himself onto one crooked elbow then rolling over the side of the bench and landing in a crouch as Holly continued with a grin, standing and pressing herself to one of the concrete poles nearby. "_One dirty hot track_," in time with the words she crossed her arms, raised one hand out sideways, dropped the hand to her cheek and then, tipping her head back, dropped her fingers back to her chest. "_Push it in and pull it back_." Moose was bouncing like a Cossack into a full flip as Holly held one hand out, snapped both hands up against the wall above her and then fell to her knees. "_Amma, Gamma, pushin' it_." Moose watched on as Holly bounced twice on her knees then did a full roll over her head and fell flat onto her back. "_See if you can top this_?" She held one finger out to Moose as if challenging and he dipped his hat, accepting it as Holly pulled herself back to her feet. "_Come into the new wave_," turning on one foot, he fell forward like he was tripped, straight onto his toes and hands as if about to do a push-up. "_Bodyrocker new wave_." He did 'the worm' then, a move that was a lot harder than it looked, before flipping over onto his back. "_More than just a new craze_." Putting his hands over his head and then flat on the ground, he pushed his feet up and jumped back onto his feet before striking a rock-and-roll fist pump and two-finger salute. "_I'll show you rock and roll_."

Holly slapped his open palm in congratulations as he turned to face a small boy who wanted his attention, the desire to learn some of Moose's moves obviously, but as Holly made to laugh at her friend's newfound fan base, her phone began to buzz in her pocket and she pulled it out to see the number on the screen. She flipped it open and walked away from Moose and the child who were now going through the basics of executing 'the worm'.

"Hi, where are you?" She frowned. "Oh, alright, yeah sure." She murmured a yes. "Okay."

Hanging up she glanced back at Moose just as a group of people started down the main stairs towards them. A train had just come in. "Hey superstar!" Moose turned at her voice and she pointed to the crowd. Moose caught on quickly and gave a smile, giving the child's shoulder a light tap, before following Holly to the stairs. "Basic rule – stay on the stairs. First to the bottom loses."

Moose nodded. "Don't need to tell me twice." He smiled warmly at an older lady walking past glaring at them. "On three."

"Hold up." Holly turned to the guy with the iPod dock. "Some music maestro?" The guy had been watching them dance with a huge grin on his face and he obliged here, turning back to 'Yeah Yeah' and continuing the song. Holly smiled at Moose. "Bring it."

Moose made off, jumping over the case of an older guy who yelled at his leap. Holly following quickly, light-footed stepping around a woman on her phone and then ducking underneath the gap left by a couple holding hands as they descended. "_You think you got it all worked out_?" Moose appeared nearby, stealing a rose from a woman's bouquet without her noticing. He stuck it behind his ear. Holly was so busy laughing silently at him that she didn't notice she was about to get shunted until the last second, jumping back against the banister just in time. "_But you don't know nothing, nothing, nothing_." Polishing the banister with her sleeve, Holly glanced up at Moose who wasn't far away impersonating a large, beared man behind his back as the fat guy goose-walked down the stairs. She jumped up on the banister and slid down it before hopping off on the second step just in front of a man in a business suit who jumped at the sight of her appearing out of nowhere. "_You think that you can rub me out_?" She nicked the pen in his top pocket before jumping back up the stairs around the group. "_But I'm made of something, something, something_." She caught Moose's attention and held up the pen as her prize. Moose just pulled the flower out and sniffed it comically. Holly frowned before he held it in his teeth and stamped his foot, clapping at the same time as if about to pull off the strangest stair tango ever. Holly was so busy shaking her head that this time she wasn't quick enough to avoid the two people walking right towards her. With a soft bump she was caught between two groups and not released until she came to the bottom of the stairs. She'd lost and Moose didn't let her live it down, sliding down the banister to meet her.

"Epic fail miss Given!"

She glared at him then, sighing heavily. "Fine, fun's over, we should think about getting our things ready for the train." She glanced up at the last of the crowd straggling out and Moose followed her eyes but saw no one he recognized. "Come on." She turned back towards the benches then stopped. "Wait, where's my watch?"

She held up a wrist that was now bare. Moose motioned up the stairs. "If it's up there it's probably been crushed by now."

Holly just shrugged. "I'll take that chance." Then, tuck-jumping over a guy's suitcase, she started up the stairs. Moose crossed his arms and looked on. "_I can teach you a thing or two_." She paused on the stairs and looked back, seeing Moose was now watching a young couple, barely older than himself, walk past. Holly smiled, pulling back her right sleeve and checking her watch, the one that had been on her right wrist the whole time. "Hey Moose!" He looked up quickly and she held up her watch. "_I can teach you a thing or two_."

He frowned and then seemed to realise. At the same time Holly felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to face the figure behind her and smiled. She turned back to look at Moose but he was gone. "Moose?"

Suddenly Moose's bushy head appeared above the crowd – he was running up the banister. With one last exuberant jump he landed on the step in front of her. "_Maybe I could teach you a thing or two?_" He mouthed along with the words and finished with a cheeky grin.

Holly just shook her head. "No Moose, maybe I can teach YOU."

She stepped aside to reveal a smaller frame behind her. A familiar one too. Moose's jaw dropped an inch. "Cam?"

Camille just smiled. "Surprise."

Holly glanced back at them from two steps down as Moose pulled his girlfriend to him and kissed her, hugging her tightly so she let out a small giggle like a squeaky push toy. Holly smiled then started back down to her bags. Moose had his girlfriend back so half his life was back in order, but what did the rest involve? And what about her? Without the dance academy, without Philadelphia, what lay ahead of her?

She went back her bags, sat down, and returned to just staring at her hands.


	14. It's Never Too Late

**Disclaimer: **Music is 'You Got Me' by J Williams feat. Scribe.

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait, few real world problems to deal with. Family… can't live with them, can't legally sell them to cannibalistic tribesmen…

Oh, and it's my birthday on Friday so please, come make my day with reviews! Please?

Chapter Thirteen;  
It's Never Too Late

"Who's the girl?"

Holly glanced up at the talking figure and grinned. "What are you doing here?"

"Retrieving my two best staff." Chris turned and grabbed Moose's attention, waving him over. His girlfriend's hand tightly grasped in his, Moose came to his side and gave him a soft knuckle thump. "I hope you weren't deserting me?"

"We saw the damage and decided to get out before you were forced to kick us out. We know you hate breaking bad news."

Chris grinned. "Thanks but it's not all bad news. There is a way to save the school."

Holly frowned. "Really?"

He nodded slowly. "It's not going to be easy but I think we could do it." He smiled at Camille. "Hi, I'm Chris."

"Camille." She glanced between Moose and Chris. "You're telling me you could save the school?" Chris nodded. "And assure Moose and Holly of a job?" Another nod. "But it would be hard right?" A third nod. Camille broke into a smile. "Well I like a challenge so I'll help."

Moose squeezed her hand and lowered his voice. "You're going to help me keep this job?"

She looked at him. "You said this was your ultimate job, that you excelled here, that you felt at home." His expression remained blank. "What kind of person would I be to take that away from you?" He grinned and kissed her cheek.

"Alright fearless leader," Holly spoke up. "We're all in, so what's the plan?"

Chris just smiled. "Grab your stuff and follow me."

…

Back in Chris' office after a brief car ride during which Holly had asked a million questions and Chris had answered none, the four of them gathered around Chris' desk as he slapped two pieces of paper down on the table. "Okay, I should thank Erika Moore for this, but she doesn't deserve it so credit goes to Moose instead." Camille glanced sideways at Moose, her expression suggesting she was trying to connect Moose to this Erika girl, but she looked back at Chris as he continued. "The Elite Dance Crew are holding a competition for a new dancer. They sent out audition slips for each dance academy and crew in the eastern seaboard. Ours got lost in the mail I guess. Somewhere between here and wherever one of Atherton's lackies 'found' it." He frowned then gathered himself and continued. "Anyway, I contacted someone from the competition and they assure me we have been allocated the standard three competitors."

"Which means what?" Holly asked.

"Well, on Thursday 26th July, at 7pm in New York, the Elite Dance Crew will be holding auditions for one new member of their crew. Each school and dance crew on the eastern seaboard can enter up to three competitors to dance. Now, they won't be dancing alone but as part of a crew, to show their team spirit I guess. So Eckhardt will be entering a team, maximum ten, though I doubt we'll get even half that, but only three will be contesting the position."

"So who are the Elite Dance Crew?" Camille asked, looking at the printout in front of Chris. "I've never heard of them before."

"The Elite Dance Crew were the winners of 'America's Best Dance Crew' three years ago and worked with a team of professional dancers, choreographers and television personalities to put together their first video. It became a winner on Youtube and rated very, very well in Europe especially. But then they fell apart, lost two members, moved to Los Angeles and haven't had any big news since. Until now that is. Elite have been offered a big tour of Europe for later this year, hence the competition, and the winners will tour Europe and dance with them. They'll also win $50,000."

"$50,000 we can use to save the school…" Holly finished, nodding slowly. "All makes sense now." She grinned at Chris. "I hope you have a spot for me." He smiled warmly back at her.

"Hold up, so," Moose interrupted. "These guys have met Randy Jackson?"

Camille frowned. "I think you're missing the point here babe."

He ignored her. "Randy's cool." He put on the worst impersonation ever. "He's 'tight dawg'."

"And you survived New York with that 'wannabe' routine? Miracle." Holly scoffed.

"Yes," Chris laughed. "They've met Randy Jackson." He held up the other slip of paper that they now noticed was an entry form of some sort. On the top was written the school's name and Chris' as administrator. Underneath the word 'entrants' he'd already scribbled 'Holly Given'. "So, wanna sign away your life?"

Moose snatched the paper from him. "To save this place Chris, I'd walk across the roof of the Empire State Building."

"He's scared of heights." Camille said, nodding at them as Moose wrote 'Robert Alexander' just under Holly's name. Chris grinned and took the list back. "Now we're done here…"

Moose stopped. "Hey, wait, we have three so what about Cam?"

Cam shook her head sternly. "Oh no, I'll dance, but I don't want to be judged for it. I'm just here to help."

Moose turned to her, lowering his voice, but Holly and Chris still listened in. "Chameleon, you would be helping, you win and you can give the school the money. Come on, you're a great dancer, why would I lie?"

"Because you're sweet." She smiled then shook her head at Chris. "I'm not the spotlight kind. Just enter with Moose and Holly."

Chris smiled. "It's okay. If you change your mind then we can add your name later. This doesn't have to be in until ten days before the competition begins." He put the papers in his top drawer. "Now, if I'm not mistaken and you two aren't going to leave again; Moose, you have a hip hop class to teach and Holly, your jazz ballet class starts in five so you better go get changed." They both nodded and left, Moose giving Camille one last 'think about joining' before he left. She just shrugged then looked back at Chris. "If you want something to do then you can go through my books and help me balance some expenses."

"I was in the intermediate math class at school."

"Me too!" He grinned. "Suddenly all the school's expense problems make sense."

"If it's okay with you, I might go take a free studio and start choreographing some moves for the competition."

Chris nodded. "Sure, book's over there." He motioned lazily, pretending to be reading, but he watched her nonetheless as she walked over and assessed the pages, finding an empty one and jotting her name down. "How long have you been dancing?"

"I don't really dance, not anymore anyway, I gave it up to focus on the real world."

Chris nodded slowly. "I hear that one a lot." He folded his arms and watched her. "I can see you're all business and details Camille, and Moose tells me you're in public relations, so you clearly know a thing or two about twisting words your way." She shrugged, humble as ever. Chris smiled. He'd known someone just like Camille. His own mother had been exactly the same. "He also says you're a great dancer." She made to speak but he held up a hand. "I know he's probably saying that just because he thinks very highly of you, but he's also not much of a liar, isn't very good at it. So if he says you can dance, he must genuinely believe it."

"Believing in something doesn't make it real though."

"True," Chris nodded again. He paused. "I knew someone just like you Camille so I know what this is really about - you don't want to cast a shadow over anyone else, outshine others, so you don't bring your A-game unless it's completely necessary." Her shoulders slumped and he knew he was correct. "But everyone deserves their moment in the spotlight. I'd understand if you were shy or self-conscious but from what I can see, you're neither, so why hide the real you?"

"I don't need to dance Chris. Dance is Moose's thing, not mine."

"So it's exclusively his is it? Well, I'll go tell the rest of the school then." Chris joked.

"You know what I mean. I'm not going to compete against my own boyfriend, I'm not going to steal what he does best, in this relationship he's the dancer and I'm…"

"The support act?" She frowned. "Ever think he'd like the company?"

"If you want me to compete for the Elite position this desperately Chris, then fine, I'll do it, but for Eckhardt, so Moose can have his school."

Chris pulled out the slip of paper and turned it in her direction, putting a pen down on top of it. "Always the martyr aren't you Camille?" She wrote her name down quickly then turned back to the door. "Ever thought maybe Moose coming here, Holly threatening you to come down, this Elite business happening all at the same time, was meant to be. Was fate? Maybe you're supposed to dance this competition."

"For Eckhardt?" Camille said quietly.

"No," Chris responded, dropping the form back into his desk drawer. "For you."

…

Finding Camille, despite her lime-green dress and orange tights, was harder than it seemed, even when she barely knew the school. Eventually he went to Chris' office to check if she'd signed out a room and found she was currently occupying the B-wing, second-floor studio. He hightailed it there and found her staring at her reflection in the large wall mirror, sucking her teeth and moving her hands in varying different patterns. She frowned when she saw him in the mirror and turned. "Yes?"

Moose folded his arms. "Are you working on moves already?"

She smiled. "You know me so well." She glanced back at her reflection. "What's wrong with this picture?"

"Apart from the lime-green dress and orange tights? I mean, come on, are you colour-blind?" Her reflection glared. "Oh, and there's also, we should be doing a tour of the city before we get down to business. You've been here two hours now and seen little more than a train station and the school." He thumbed to the door. "I found this awesome place, you should come check it out."

"Moose, I'm not going to a place that sells Philly cheese steaks!" She turned with a soft, judging smile.

He nodded slowly, muttering to himself, but so Camille could hear. "She's a keeper Alexander. Smart, beautiful and completely tolerant of my natural attraction to food." Camille laughed. "Nothing short of perfect."

Her laugh fell quiet. "Anything but." Moose looked up with furrowed brows. "I over-reacted when you told me about this place, and then not answering your calls, that was stupid. But I was scared. Scared you'd really left this time. Like NYU, except 100 times worse." He made to say something but she continued. "I must have told myself a million times that I was being irrational but still something inside me told me to keep ignoring you, blaming you, and just keep going with everything. Until Holly called that is. She w…"

Camille was cut off when the door opened and Chris walked in. "Guys, you're in charge of the place for the moment, I have some business to attend to in the outside world." He glanced between them. "Sorry, did I interrupt?"

"Yes, your timing sucks." Camille said, but she did so with a smile on her face.

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm growing to like you very much miss Gage, you tell it how it is." He smiled and slowly closed the door behind him.

"What did she say?" Moose asked, having not moved since Camille stopped talking, unaware before now (though he had suspected something at the train station) just how involved Holly had become in his mess of a life.

"She told me about a guy she'd fallen for and how she knew nothing could ever be. How he reminded her of a guy in her past. She comes from a Defence Force family and before her mother died they were moved all over the country. She fell in love with this guy in Ohio and he was everything to her. But then she had to move and even though they kept in touch, they had to move on. Now he's married with a kid and still she thinks about him." There came a soft thump outside the door and both glanced up to find Chris still standing there, a frown across his face. Camille cleared her throat and he looked up, gave them a strained smile, and rushed out of sight. Camille shook her head slowly at him. "Anyway," she finally continued. "She told me that if I didn't take the lead, change things, I'd lose you. She also told me if I didn't come here she'd go up to New York and drag me down here. I thought she was joking at first and I laughed, but when she didn't laugh back I kinda assumed she…" she looked at Moose for confirmation and he nodded.

"Oh yeah, she would've done it."

"Really?" Camille looked a little scared now.

"There was this kid in her Contemporary Jazz class who just never listened so she picked him up by his feet and held him upside down for about ten minutes until he agreed to do whatever she said."

"Oh my gosh!" She leant forward as if being told some incredible secret. "What happened?"

"Nothing. The kid didn't complain to anyone and instead spent the entire afternoon telling people about it. When Chris found out he went nuts, threatened to remove her from the class, but when they went back the next day and other kids asked to be picked up by their feet, he let it be. Best behaved class now. Also the most improved."

"She scares me."

Moose smiled. "Me too." He looked at his feet. "Cam, I'm sorry I left, I can't say that enough. It was such a spur of the moment thing and I just didn't think it through, didn't think about you to be honest, I just took it for granted that you'd accept it. I know now that I spent a lot of time taking you for granted and for that I'm sorry too." She moved towards him and he accepted the hug. As he pulled away he looked down at her. "So I'm forgiven?"

"You're just lucky it worked out alright. If you hadn't got the job and had returned to New York with your tail between your legs, I may not be so forgiving."

Moose gave a 'pfft' and waved one hand. "Not get the job? Babe, I was a shoe-in from the moment I walked in. Should've seen the other girls auditioning for the job." Camille stepped back, raising an eyebrow with a smile. "I strode through the doors and they were like 'o-m-g, it's Moose Alexander'," he put on a high 'girl's' voice as he spoke and Camille couldn't hold back a grin. "'He's so hot and such an great dancer'. I think two or three fainted."

Camille held back a snort. "Is that supposed to make me jealous?"

"Is it working?" She shook her head. "Oh well, I tried at least." He fished his iPod out of his pocket as Camille turned back to the mirror. She watched him plug it in to the iPod dock nearby and scroll through.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He turned up the volume but didn't hit play yet. "Oh and by the way, forget what I said about girls, I'm not going anywhere without you ever again." Camille smiled warmly as she took a seat against the mirror. "You got me."

The music started up and Camille threw her hands in the air, giving an exaggerated sigh. "Why does every meaningful talk we have always end in a dance routine?"

Moose grinned as he span on one toe, singing along with the song blaring from his little yellow iPod nano. "_It's just me and you baby, oh no_," he pointed to himself and then down at Camille. "_We gonna take over this world_." Throwing his arms wide, he turned slowly, playing the whole thing up as much as he could. Cam just shook her head with a smile. The beat picked up then and he really started to dance. "_It was you that got me_," pointing at Camille again, he ducked under his own arm and turned himself around, his arm pulling over himself until it fell to his left shoulder. "_I thought I was out_." He pulled at his shoulder, bending his knees and dropping his other arm back so he was crouched down, leaning back into his arm. His head fell back to look at Camille upside-down. She gave a small wave. "_You stopped me, I knew I was at my worst_." Then, pushing himself up again, he swung one leg around the other and twisted himself back to standing. Camille pretended to look unimpressed. "_Then you came in, threw me off my feet_." Moose came forward then, grabbing Camille's hand and pulling her up, forcing her to dance with him. Cam knew it was easier to dance than protest so smiled and let him go. "_Tell me, te-tell me, tell me please can you help me_?" He held one arm out in a 'please help' pose as Camille crossed her arms, shaking her head at him with a smile etched across her face. "_Help me, to think that there can't be_," with a soft shove at his arm, Camille watched with a grin as, stiff as a plank, Moose fell back before only inches from the floor he leant forward and collapsed safely onto his backside, continuing to keep Camille's eye the entire way. "_Cos I never thought love could take me this quick_." He fell onto his back, clutching his chest like he was suffering a heart attack and then, kicking up his feet, rolled back over his head and into the standing position once more. "_A few months and it feels like years, and every year I'm-a still be here_." Spinning again, this time on both heels, he reached out and grabbed Camille's hand as he stopped and dropped to his knees. "_Never thought I could fall for someone like you_…"

Camille shook her head slowly again as he looked up at her with a soft smile. "Don't tell me I'm supposed to genuinely believe that was impromptu?"

Moose grinned as he pushed himself back to his feet. "I kinda planned this, the whole 'I'm sorry', 'Girls falling over me' routine."

Cam shook her head. "I feel so set up."

He continued. "I found this song and it reminded me of you. So I made up some pretty awesome dance moves, if I say so myself."

Camille frowned. "I don't know this song."

"It's from New Zealand."

"You don't even know where New Zealand is!" Camille laughed.

He pointed one finger in her direction. "True," she bit back a grin. "But that's not the point." He moved away, going back to his dance. "_Hey baby, you got me_," he pointed at her, his left foot on its heel as he swivelled it along with the beat. "_Like a bullet, shot me_." He feigned being shot then, clutching at his chest as he slipped his left foot back into line with his right. "_Right through my ventricle_." He staggered a little as Camille laughed, shaking her head at him. "_Don't know what I'm meant to do_." Then, with one last wobbly step, he fell to his knees. Slapping both hands to the ground, he quickly pushed himself back up again. "_Baby, now you got me, like Adrian got Rocky_."

Camille laughed. "ADRIAN!" She did her best Rocky impersonation.

Moose continued to bounce around on his toes, his fists held up like he was about to throw a punch. "_Imma be the champion, cos now that I got you, nothing can stop me_." He squatted, gave two full spins on his toes towards her, then jumped to his feet right in her face on 'you'. Camille gave him a small smile, stepped back, and then, forming her own fists, pretended to punch him square in the jaw. He threw himself aside as if he had just been collected, rolling across the floor and stopping on his back, his arms out flat to the sides. "_And even though I built those walls between us you unlocked me_." Holding his hands out at right angles, the fingers turned in, he pretended to 'build' with them, raising himself up into a seated position as he did. On 'unlocked me' Camille held out a hand to pull him up but just as he went to take it, she pulled it back, laughing at him. He just jumped straight back to his feet quickly, holding his arms out in front of him and walking like a zombie for the next line. "_They say love is blind and I can definitely not see_." Grinning, Camille kicked one foot out as he passed and while he didn't hit it at all, Moose still tumbled to the floor in play. He sat up then, dusting his knees, as Camille crouched down next to. "_I adore you baby, you're the freakin' best_." Camille blew on her knuckles and rubbed them on her shirt, playing up a smug look. "_If your world starts falling down_," Moose pushed on her knees then and, off-balance, she fell back onto her backside with a shocked laugh. "_You got nothing left, don't you forget_." Then, standing over her, Moose held out both hands and easily pulled her back to her feet.

"You done my dancing Casanova?" Camille laughed.

"Sure, one last thing though." Then, grabbing her to him, he dipped her and dropped a kiss squarely on the tip of her nose. She laughed. "Now I'm done." He put her back on her feet.

"You're a dork." And, ruffling his hair good-naturedly, she pulled away. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, you've got a school to run and I have a dance to finish."

"Let it run itself. You can show me what you've got. That way, when you show the others, I can pretend I picked it up straightaway." Then, with a grin, Camille stepped up to the mirror and showed him what she'd come up with so far.


	15. Nowhere Without You

**Disclaimer: **Music is 'Bang Bang Bang' by Mark Ronson and The Business Intel. As before, I fail to gain ownership of Step Up. Yo, Jon Chu, hand it over buddy!

Chapter Fourteen;  
Nowhere Without You

"Tango?" Moose groaned. It had been three days since they'd all returned to Eckhardt, with one additional member of course, and already the new girl had come up with two routines to inspire them, one she'd already termed 'the hip hop tango'.

"Oh come on, it's a beautiful dance." Camille swished out wearing a red dress over her jeans and sneakers. "Even if it impossible to dance in skate shoes." She caught Moose watching her. "What?"

"Nothing." He looked away as Camille smothered a smile.

"We have to show them we can do each and every type of dance they require of us." Chris spoke up.

Camille nodded. "Absolutely." She paused. "Except hula."

Chris smiled slowly. "Yeah, h..."

She cut across him with a stern look and finger. "No!"

"How's my style?" Holly appeared from nearby sporting a deep green short dress. Her legs were bare underneath but she also wore dark blue sneakers. "Cha cha cha!" She gave a stamp of her right foot and Camille laughed.

"At what point in someone's choreographing career do they go 'hip hop and tango so need to be together'?" Moose asked, frowning again at the list of moves Camille had written down for them to learn. They'd learnt it separately but this was their first group run-through.

"At the same point in their career when they stop taking choreography advice from their freestyling boyfriend." Camille grinned at Moose and he raised his eyebrows at her just as Holly muttered 'burn' from behind them. They ignored her and Camille continued. "So, you gonna do this?"

"Bring it on."

Chris went to the iPod dock, having finally removed his gaze from Holly, and flicked through to 'Bang Bang Bang' as the others took their positions in front of the mirror. "Ready?" They nodded. "Okay, let's see how this goes."

The song started up and Holly moved first. "_Un, deux, trois_." Facing to the back, she flicked her right arm out in a snap, rolled it over her head as she turned to face the mirror on 'deux' then snapped it out to the side on 'trois', her left hand on her hip the entire time. "_Oh oh-oh_." At this she stepped forward, snapping her right hand up to her mouth as if shocked but still sporting her usual cheeky grin.

From Holly's left Moose slid across the floor on his knees, stopping himself with his right hand as he stopped between the two girls. "_Turn it up a little bit more_." Turning himself in a full circle, he pointed at Chris who, on cue, turned the iPod up and the song blasted across the room.

"_Bang bang bang_." Camille copied Holly's moves perfectly in time with the worded cues before Chris back-flipped across the front of the room in front of them, dropping to a crouch on Holly's left as the girls snapped their right legs out and curled their hands up and over their hands, stopping them in front of their faces with fingers splayed. They turned their heads to the left and then straight back to the front as the first verse began.

"_Feathers_," the boys pushed themselves into a standing position and then stopped, their arms crossed in front of them. Meanwhile the girls threw their left arms out in a wide snap as they curled their right under their chins. "_I'm plucking feathers_." On the syllables 'pluck-ing feath' the girls plucked at their dress before stepped forward sharply on the final syllable and dropping both hands to their sides. "_One by one_," at this they turned, stepping around in a circle, one step per word before they came back to the front. They boys did much the same move except where the girls turned counter-clockwise, they turned clockwise. "_By one_." With another step forward, the girls drew a circle on the floor with the toes of their shoes in a tango move known as 'dibujo'. On "_no more skylarking_," they waved their right hand forward, leaning forward with it, and held the palm up to the mirror in a 'stop' gesture, their left hand under their elbow, palm down. Then, on 'skylarking' they brushed the hand back across their hairline, flicking it out to the side at the end. The boys turned to the left, gave two quick jumps back, then stopped in their pose again. "_Around my head_." At this the girls rolled their heads, flicking their hair over their faces, and leaning forward still. "_Your information_." With their left hand still beneath their right elbow, the girls flicked their hair back off their face again, facing to the left. They boys dropped their arms, tapping their heads and jumping a little back again so they were now right behind the girls. "_But there's no hiding_." Giving a sharp toe kick with their right foot, the girls twisted their arms back over their faces fingers splayed again, and leant into their back leg, right foot still in the air. The boys turned a circle out from behind the girls, stopping and facing them, arms crossed again. "_Behind moulting feathers_." Then, dropping the right foot back to the left, the girls stamped their foot and stuck that pose. The boys turned to the front, dropped their arms, and then took over.

"_On the plane_." Holding their arms up at a right angle to the floor, they punched their clenched fists across in front of their faces twice, turning to the left on the second punch. "_On my brain_" was done with two short taps on the right side of their heads before "_about to do the sho_'" lead them to turn back to the front, pushing down twice on the empty air beside themselves with a bounce on one leg. After the second push they snapped their elbows back up to their sides, facing out, and left their right leg, knee bent, suspended in mid-air. "_40K contract, take it out the door_." Brushing their hands over themselves twice, they hammed up turning out empty pockets, still balanced on their left leg, before pointing to the right with both hands and dropping to a crouch in the same move. "_Dice symbolise my life_," lead them to drop their arms behind them, crossing their right leg over their left knee and facing to the left. Then on "_roll 'em on the floor_" they pushed their right leg right over and ended up on their fronts, facing away from the mirror. The move ended on "_from your grubby hands, as you hear the grand stand_" when they rolled themselves over onto their backs, kicked their feet up in the air and jumped back to their feet just as the line finished.

This entire time the girls hadn't moved, but finally they did, swishing their hips so Camille's skirt flapped out a little and Holly's taffeta-encrusted tutu-inspired green piece gave a ruffle of protest. "_You live a shitty life_." The girls stepped out to the left, their foot crossing over their partner's, as they held their hand up over his mouth like they were censoring him. He, meanwhile, gave a click with his left hand and then brushed it over his mouth, facing to the left as the hand went right, clicking at the end once again. "_We live a bon, bon vie_." The girls waved their hands to their faces like they were cooling themselves and the guys stayed still, holding the click pose. "_Hotter than the book while we watch the TV_." Dropping the right hand, both girls threw their arms wide and slid across the face of their partners, stepping to a stop and facing to the right on 'TV'. The guys meanwhile continued Camille's classic 'hamming it up' moves by wiping their brows on 'hotter' and stepping together on the left of themselves, making a square with both hands and bringing them together on 'TV'. "_Think you got us fooled?_" Tapping their heads slowly, the girls turned back to the front as the guys leant forward, their arms crossed in front of them. On "_ooh_" the girls raised their left hands to their mouths, looking shocked, as the guys leant back, hopping back a little as well. "_Never again!_" Shaking a single finger, the girls started to walk slowly backwards, crossing behind the guys who were still again. "_First time, shame on me._" Continuing the pass around them slowly, the guys thumbed themselves in the chest, watching the girls pass behind them with exaggerated head movements. "_Second time, your time will end_." Now back on the guy's left side, the girls were pulled in by their partners to the exclusively tango section of the whole routine. Camille prepared to have her feet stepped on, but was pleasantly surprised when Moose executed the opening part perfectly.

"_No way, bang your dead, here's your silhouette_." In a few basic tango steps, the pairs turned in a full circle, coming back to where they'd begun on 'silhouette'. "_Je te plumerai la, tete_", sung twice, called for two quick dips, one with the girls' foot held between her partners in a trap better known as 'mordida' in the tango world. The second had the foot released and swung up beside the partner's leg so she balanced on one leg only as she was dipped. Both pairs executed this part without anyone being hurt. "_Oh no, oh no, oh no_" was where the tango moves were released as she rolled away from the grasp as he stepped to the right. Moose stepped to his left bumping Camille a little but she just laughed and gave him a shove to the right before the next line started. "_Bang your dead_." The girls pulled their hands from his and he stepped to the right again. "_Alouette_." With a stamp of her right foot, Camille raised her hands to her forehead and cheek. Holly seemed to forget the move and only raised her hands when she noticed Camille. The boys crossed their arms and gave a small hop backwards. The girls held that pose through "_here's your silhouette_" as they boys fell back into a crouch and dropped one arm behind them. "_Je te plumerai la tete_" came again and the boys leaned back into the arm and kicked their feet up into the air, dropping back into a crouch at the end as the girls gave a full turn, sliding their right foot along the ground behind them in a circle. On the second line they stopped, rolled their right arm past their ear, left hand to their elbow again, and stopped, fingers down and palm facing in. The boys rose back to their feet slowly, facing towards the girls.

"_Oh no no no_…"

"We're losing it. Maybe we should stop." Moose suggested, keeping hold of his pose.

"Quitter." Holly muttered, glancing towards him. "Let's at least do the next bit. I want to try this dip." She looked to Chris. "If you drop me, I'll kill you."

"If you do the move properly that won't happen." They were staring each other down now and missed the first line of the next part of the song; only catching up when they noticed Camille and Moose had already started. "_We're never gonna believe in the stories that you're weavin'_." Placing his arms over Camille's, Moose pushed at her arms gently so they dropped. At this she curled her right over her shoulder and over his as well and he put his hands to her waist. Holly and Chris skipped this part, going straight into the turn. On the repeat of the line the guys lifted the girls a little off the ground then turned in a circle, depositing them back where they'd started. Finally, on the last repeat, he slid away to the right, his hands falling to his sides, as she curled her hands one over the other and then rolled them over her head. The next part called for slow but deliberate movements as on "_we're believin' in the proof_" was a slow roll before she slapped her hand in the guy's outstretched palm on 'proof' and "_we're believin' in the truth_" was a slide of his hand over hers before tugging her into a turn towards him on 'truth'. Then the dip came and Moose whispered one last thing before he tried it.

"If I kill you, I'm sorry."

Camille gave a laugh at Moose's very serious face. "You can do it."

Then, on "_we're believin' in each other_," he started the dip, her feet crossed beneath her as she slid back, his hand on her back and shoulder. Then the hard part came. On "_not you_" his hands slid to her shoulders only and she fell deeper, uncurling one leg so her feet were apart as her only brace. On the second "_you_" she fell lower into the dip as her right foot went out straight so her heel was on the floor and his grip fell to her elbows. So far it was all going well and Camille thought for sure they'd pulled it off.

She'd assumed too early.

On the final "_you_" Moose's grip dropped to Camille's hands, holding her only inches from the floor, as her left foot lay on its heel now too. She was entirely in Moose's hold and he'd done it.

Chris had not.

On the third "_you_" there came a thump as Holly fell and then a cry. Raising his eyebrows, Moose stepped back and easily pulled Camille to her feet, catching her to him as she stumbled a little, then they looked down to where Holly now lay on the floor, clutching at her right ankle and staring daggers up at Chris. Moose made to move towards them, letting Camille go, but she stopped him as Chris crouched down to Holly's level, assessing her. She dragged Moose back a bit.

"Say nothing; they're having a moment!" She whispered, watching them intently.

Moose glanced sideways. "Oh really? So when does 'having a moment' involve violence?" Chris moved away a little and Cam saw Holly was now striking him rather ferociously on the arm. Her expression fell.

Chris stood up, stepping back from her moves, and held out a hand to pull her up, but Holly was stubborn and she ignored it. When she tried to stand and her leg gave away under her he finally disregarded her death stares and hitting to grab her beneath her armpits and pull her to her feet, slinging one arm around his shoulder and supporting her weight. He glanced back at Camille and Moose. "I'm going to take Holly to the nurse. If you guys wish to continue to practice then go ahead." As they left the room the bickering started up again.

'I can't believe you dropped me,' 'well, apparently you're heavier than you think' and 'wow, it's like you want to get punched in the face' were heard until the pair were out of sight. At that Moose looked at Camille. "I hope you haven't already ordered the bridesmaids dress." He joked. She hit him on the arm. "Violence is never the answer miss Gage." He walked over to his bottle of water and took a big mouthful, puffing his cheeks out and pulling at his ears in a monkey-like expression that made Camille laugh. He swallowed quickly and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Hey, what I said earlier, tango and hip hop together is totally hot."

Camille looked slowly giving him a tight-lipped grin. "I know."

He tipped his head a little, trying to look adorable. "Kind of like you right now."

She just laughed. "Smooth Alexander, real smooth." She drained the last of her water bottle then motioned to the window. "Sunshine and refreshments while the medical specialists deal with Holly?"

Moose nodded. "Lead the way el capitano!"

...

"At least now the developers will have a little less to knock down," a voice came through the open front gates and Moose looked up with a frown at the two figures. He'd been sitting out there just catching his breath, getting some fresh air and watching the world go by, when he'd heard the voice. He looked up into a face he could only guess belonged to…

"Paul Moore?"

Paul smiled and his sister stepped out from behind him, giving Moose another of her cat-like charming smiles. He was sure the hairs on the back of his neck just stood on end. "Indeed. And you're the infamous Moose Alexander from New York." Moose smothered a smile as Paul muttered 'indeed'. What a prat.

"What do you want?" He motioned to the building. "Apart from remarking on demolition that is never going to happen?"

"Oh it's going to happen, once we buy this place, now Barry's got you sitting on th…" Erika stopped her arrogant spiel at the sight of the girl coming towards them. Moose glanced back and his grin formed at the sight of Camille as she came up holding two large glasses of iced tea. Her eyes fell on the Moores and her smile didn't falter one bit.

"Oh, hi," she glanced sideways at Moose before putting down the glasses and offering a hand. "I'm Camille."

They ignored the hand and she eventually dropped it, looking at Moose again. "Cam, these are Paul and Erika Moore, from Atherton."

The grin returned to Camille's face. "Erika Moore – the one who told us about Elite!" Erika put on a strained smile, her eyes still glaring daggers at Camille as she straightened her red dress and took a seat next to Moose. "We owe you some thanks. We'll see you there."

"You can't seriously be entering?" Paul muttered, crossing his arms. "This is for serious competitors, not…"

"Try-hards and no talents?" Moose finished, remembering what Erika had said the first time they met. She seemed to understand the reference and her eyes flashed at him, but Camille broke through again, lowering her tea as she watched them over the top of her glass.

"Oh, we're serious. I'm sure you've seen Moose dance. I posted a few videos on Youtube." Moose frowned a little. He'd always suspected she was behind those but could never prove it. Erika also frowned, but for a completely different reason. "He's serious, that's for sure." She squeezed Moose's arm with a smile.

Erika made to speak but all of a sudden the front doors of the school burst open and Chris stalked out, being followed by Holly who was hobbling on her right foot. "You!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Paul and Erika. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Meeting the new girl," Paul gave Camille a smile but, to her merit, she didn't flinch at all, giving one right back. Paul was the first to look away. "Hope you don't mind."

"I wouldn't mind if I weren't so certain the police got it very wrong."

Holly frowned. "What?"

"Oh, didn't know miss Given?" Paul muttered and Holly glanced up, unaware he knew her name at all. "Chris set the police on me, accused me of starting this fire, but the good news is, they found nothing."

"Because you're good at covering your tracks!"

"Chris, calm down." Moose stood up and joined Chris, laying a hand on his arm as he surged forward with every burst of anger. "This won't help anything."

Paul smiled coldly. "Very smart." He nodded at Erika and they turned away, but when Holly spoke again they turned back.

"Whoever did this is clearly just scared of a little competition," Holly muttered.

Paul gave a sly smile as he looked back. "Not that you were ever any competition to Atherton, but still, I guess this makes it certain."

Holly's bottom lip dropped with realisation. "You did do this?"

Paul didn't move, but Chris did, lunging forward and grabbing at Paul's collar. "You're gonna wish yo…"

Holly gripped his arm as Camille tried to help her pull him back. "Chris, don't, he's not worth it." Chris let go and stepped back, causing Holly to fall onto her sore ankle, and she groaned in pain.

"Maybe you should focus on her?" Paul muttered, motioning to Holly as he straightened his collar with his other hand. Erika just crossed her arms over her chest, coldly grinning Holly down. "Rather than half-hearted threats that is."

Moose stepped up then. "Get out of here before we call the police."

Paul just smiled. "Of course." He nodded to Erika and they turned away. As Chris led Holly back inside, she hobbling and he simmering, Moose continued to stare them down, Erika shooting back glances as she walked away. He didn't even notice Camille come up beside him until she touched his arm.

"They seem like jerks."

Moose didn't look at her, watching Erika's face change from smug to angry at the sight of Camille, and that he enjoyed seeing. "They're worse than jerks," he glanced at her with a soft smile. "But mom told me never to say that word."

She gave a warm smile then looked back at Erika. She'd paused just outside the gate now and was staring Camille down. "You really think they tried to burn Eckhardt down?" Moose shrugged. "I don't think that Erika girl likes me." She looked back at him as Erika turned and sauntered off. "Have you two had some run-ins before?"

Moose looked to the ground for a second, unsure how to phrase it, but then, before he had a chance, the lie slipped out quickly. "No. I don't know her." He motioned back to the school. "Come on, let's grab some lunch."

Camille smiled. "Alright, but you're buying tough guy." She slipped away from him as Holly called out to her and she danced off in Camille's usual light-footed way. He watched her go for a moment before he glanced back at the gates. Erika was gone, but still, he could feel himself being judged. Casting his eyes skyward, he spoke to the Heavens; trying and failing to convince himself his lie was justified. "There's nothing to tell her, so it's fine, it's better to just avoid everything altogether." But even as he spoke it he knew he had to tell Camille everything. He at least owed her that.


	16. Opposite of Adult

**Disclaimer: **Step Up still not mine. Music by Chiddy Bang feat. MGMT

Chapter Fifteen;  
Opposite of Adult

"Where do you get your fashion sense?" Moose muttered, glancing sideways at Camille as she joined him in the hall that morning, walking back from the girls' bathrooms. She was sporting white board shorts with green spots on them, a black swing shirt and black and green sneakers.

"You know, that's a bit rich coming from a guy wearing plaid." She tugged at his loose-hanging checked shirt.

"I prefer the term 'tartan'. I'm embracing my inner-Scotsman." She laughed. "What? There's an inner-Scotsman there somewhere I'm sure."

"And I'm embracing my school spirit." She motioned to the banner above the doorway to the main entrance of the school. It was dark green, black and white. "Plus working on some matching outfits for the competition." She paused. "By the way, I got Holly to steal some of your track pants so I could dye them black, just to be safe."

Moose huffed. "I wish she'd stop stealing into my room and taking things. Handed me back a pencil sharpener just yesterday that she'd taken."

Camille nodded slowly. "She's braver than me. I've seen how you live, it scares me, a lot!"

"Harden up girl." He grabbed her around the head and pulled her into a soft headlock, rubbing his knuckles into the top of her head, before letting her go where she frowned at him, voicing no protest, just glaring. "What?"

"Well, I was going to ask you to give me a tour of the city today, Liberty Bell, parks and (your personal favourite topic) food, but since you're being such a prick then maybe…"

He grabbed her hand. "I apologize. I shall get on my knees and beg forgiveness if you ask it." She raised a solitary eyebrow and he dropped. "Camille, please, I have erred and I apologize sincerely for so."

She just laughed. "Alright dork-zilla, get up and let's walk."

He pushed himself to his feet slowly. "And talk. I have a few things to tell you." He confessed. Camille stopped and assessed his face. "A few admissions to be exact."

…

"I'm glad you didn't take it." Camille said softly after he'd finished telling her all about the fountain dance, the club, the job offer and everything else he'd endured at the hand of Erika Moore before Camille came to Philadelphia. They were walking along the edge of a park, the soccer field beyond no longer green due to the heat but a patchy yellow and dusty mess, he was finishing off a hotdog but she had declined the meal and opted for a can of lemonade instead. She finished it was a noisy slurp through her long yellow straw and shot for the bin nearby. The can rolled around and fell in, but the straw dropped to the ground. "I imagine working for her would've been like death!" She rushed over to gather up the straw and when she stood up she saw them on the other side of the soccer field. "Speak of the devil and she appears." She motioned at the group and Moose looked up, wiping his top lip with the back of his wrist as he did.

"Oh great. Think she's seen us?"

"Us? No." Camille backed out from behind the bin. "But you, yes." She thumbed over her shoulder as the brunette waved. Camille flipped her hood up over her face. "You better go or she'll come over here and," she nodded to the set of stairs behind Moose. "One of us is going to be shoved down a flight of stairs."

"You don't believe she'd actually have the guts or strength to push us down a flight of stairs?"

Camille shook her head. "No, but I might push her." Moose laughed, knowing that was an empty threat, then started to walk over. He paused when he realised Camille was lagging behind. "Hurry up." He waved her forward with his hotdog. She shook her head so, trusting she was likely up to something, Moose continued towards Erika and her little group.

She stepped out of the circle when he got within talking range. "What brings you here Alexander?" She put one hand on her hip and sunk into it, trying to look provocative he guessed, but to him she just looked like a little girl who was trying too hard. "Did you hear about the 'Gathering'?"

"Not until right now."

"Well, let me fill you in." She looped her arm around his and dragged him towards the front of the crowd. "It's your basic sharing the caring stuff. We bring some new moves, everyone leaves with something awesome for their arsenal, and we bring it back to Atherton." She pulled back and smiled. "Now, I'd love to show you everything, but you may take it back to Eckhardt, so it's probably for the best that I don't." She looked at the others. "Say bye bye to Moose."

Moose held up a hand to stop her. "What if I bring something too? Surely that's just sharing then and I can't really be a spy?"

Erika looked up at him under her eyelids. "You know," she cooed. "If it were anyone else, I'd probably say 'no', but you're something else Moose." Her smile went cold again. "You start and then we'll see if you get to see some of our stuff too."

"That's doesn't sound very fair." Camille had been sitting on the edge of the circle, watching the exchange, and finally spoke up, pulling off her hood. Erika glared. She pushed into the middle. "Moose is world class. You're just a bunch of private school kids with oversized egos."

Erika glared at Camille hard but she seemed to have lost the point and she knew it. The crowd went silent and it set her off. Turning on the others she brushed them away and they gathered about a metre away, talking among themselves and often glancing back at Erika, Moose and Camille. Once they were gone, Erika spoke again. "Maybe we should postpone and the 'Gathering' and just offer these people an all-out battle. It's clear you want to start something with me."

Camille shook her head. "Wrong again miss Moore. I have no interest in 'starting anything' with you, I'm here to 'finish' everything between you and Eckhardt."

"Really?"

Camille stepped back as Erika pushed up into her personal space. "We're going. Have fun with your 'Gathering'."

She was about to turn away when Erika spoke again. "Oh well," she smiled coldly. "I guess not everyone can hack it on the streets."

Erika walked off then, her head held high, as Camille just frowned. After a second of stunned silence she looked at Moose. "Is she serious?"

He was frowning too. "I think so." A song had just started up, a poppy-hip hop beat through it, and the crowd cheered as Erika and one other dancer stepped into the centre of the circle.

Camille nodded determinedly. "Okay then." Tugging at her zipper she pulled her jacket off as Moose turned his eyes away from the dancing group to the undressing girl next to him. Without a word she threw her jacket onto a bench nearby and strode into the crowd. Near the front she saw the whole dance. Erika Moore had style, Camille wouldn't deny that, and as she executed something that looked like a hip-hop version of a belly dance, she could tell the kid had a future. But right now she had to learn her place.

"What are you going to do?" Moose reappeared at Camille's side.

"Dish out a hard-learned lesson or two." The song was reaching the end of the first chorus as she flashed him a smile. "A lesson on respecting your elders." Stepping around a blonde guy in front of her, Camille appeared in the circle, stepping up to Erika who now had her back turned to the older girl. Camille made her presence known by singing along and prodding the teen in the shoulder blade at the same time.

"_Remember you was a kid_?" Camille waved a hand away from the teen as she leant into her left leg, popping her knee out. "_Reminisce days of the innocence._" As her hand reached her head she tapped her temple and switched legs, now leaning into her right. After two taps she brought her hands forward, cupping them under her chin like a bad baby cherub poster. "_Now it's Chiddy Bang, Google me the images._" At these words she thumbed herself quite hard in the chest and floated back on her toes as if stunned. As she fell back on her heels she held her left palm out flat and with her right hand started to type on it as if working a computer. The crowd laughed, warming to her instantly, and Moose smiled. Only Erika was left looking positively dumbfounded. "_Follow me, follow me I'm the leader and when I park cars I don't pay for the meter_." With a turn Camille started towards the ring, slapping hands as she ran the circle wide, only stopping to 'park cars' and quick-stepping out into a pose, raising her right hand as if dipping money into a parking meter. It was so much fun to watch and from the look on Camille's face even more fun to dance. Knuckle thumping a kid nearby, she spun away back into the centre of the circle, twisting her legs under her in a hip-hop move widely known as 'walk it out'. "_I remember I was younger, as a kid it was the best_." She brushed her hands across her shoulders as she continued, popping her collar for show before spraying her hands wide for the next bit. "_I used to touch on all the pretty girls at recess_." Crossing her hands over her chest and stomach, Camille finished the bit with an enthusiastic slap on the side of her right leg and a wink. "_I'm at my peak yes, I won't leave yet._" Swinging one leg out, Camille sunk down on her side, one leg out and the other caught under her as she came almost to the ground. Placing her hands flat on the ground, she gave a small jump and both legs came out behind her so she looked like she was about to do a push-up. "_Serial style, serial, I don't need checks_." Rolling herself over onto her back, she raised her arms behind her and arched her back up so her stomach rose into the air in a move known as 'the bridge'. At 'checks' she kicked one leg into the air, straight up, then flopped back onto the ground onto her back. "_I can make these rappers run like a hard drill_." Pulling her legs up and sitting up, she turned on her tailbone until she was able to fall onto her knees, lifting her right leg up to perform the 'knee glide' manoeuvre. As she did she raised her left arm in the air with a 'rock' two-fingered salute on the end. "_Rock band show you how the guitar feel_." On the third twist she stopped, rose herself a little higher, and executed a strangely good air guitar. Not bad for someone who didn't have a lot of rock music in her iPod. Then she swivelled back onto her toes, rose herself into a crouch and pointed forward, still facing the stock-still Erika who remained watching the whole thing with a look of horror on her face. "_I could care less how ya'll feel_." Smacking the ground hard with her left hand, her right hand remaining pointed at Erika, she threw her left arm over her shoulder and backwards, quickly following it with the right. "_I got the flow to make a b… do a cartwheel_." She didn't do a cartwheel, simply doing a backwards hand spring with legs splayed so she landed on her left first and instantly pulled herself to her feet. "_This is that good, just pop it and relax bro_." Raising her hands out in front of her one at a time, Camille started with two 'puppet' steps before clicking and scraping the dirt with her right hand, coming up with a clenched fist. "_And you can get it free, don't worry about the tax no_." She launched into one of her trademark moves, a piece known as the 'Egyptian groove' where she started with a 'walk like an Egyptian' hand then raised herself onto her toes and ended resting on her right leg. "_And Zaphoo, thank you for the c…_" Clicking with her unclenched hand, she twisted herself around and covered her mouth as if scandalised by the word 'crack'. Then, dancing a square, she brought it home, sliding closer to Erika. "_But I play a Ron Burgundy, I anchor on the track like…_" she walked herself around into a square, stopping to pop one leg out and lean into Erika's face before raising her right clenched fist, leaning back a bit and opening it to reveal a small handful of dirt. After 'like' she blew, discarding the final word in the verse to cover Erika's face in a small collection of dust, falling back onto her left leg and sliding her right one back to meet it.

Erika wiped her face as the crowd fell silent, the look on the teen's face souring the situation, but Camille saw none of it, just passing through the crowd and grabbing her jacket. As she pulled it back on, Moose appeared beside her, watching her wipe her dusty hand on her track pants. "Wow." Camille made to smile a reply but Erika's voice came across the space between.

"Hey, what was that?" She had her hands on her hips and her face was flushed with frustration.

Camille raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?" She glanced at Moose who stayed expressionless, his eyes dancing between the two as if wondering whether he should step between them and drag Camille away now just for safety purposes. "Makes you wonder what they're teaching at Atherton then. See, that's called 'dance'."

Erika gaped like a fish for a second then her eyes narrowed. "I want a rematch, a for real dance-off, not you rolling in on my dance last minute."

Camille cast her eyes skyward. "I'm not here to show you up miss Moore, I'm here to remind you to keep your head screwed on, you're not the best in America yet."

"And you'd know what about it exactly?"

Camille smiled softly. "I have a few more years experienced than you – on the highs and lows of dance." She glanced at Moose who was now watching her intently. She gave him a nod then looked back at Erika. "Until we meet again." Then, with a cheery wave, Camille turned and walked away. It took Moose a second to gather himself before he went after her, frowning at her as they came to the traffic lights and finally stopped. She looked up at him. "Oh come on Moose, you can't judge me. Three years ago you picked a war with Kid Darkness in the middle of a park. Compared to the Samurais, this little girl is nothing, just another 'try-hard and no talent'."

"You get titchy when people insult you." But he was smiling as he said it. Camille's irritation floated away at that smile and she shook her head a little. "What?"

"I can't believe I actually did that. I don't do that kind of thing!"

"You were great." She smiled. "Plus, it means I'm rubbing off on you." Moose raised his eyebrows with a grin. "You're becoming as impulsive and foolhardy as me!"

"That's what I'm truly scared of." Moose frowned before he saw Camille grin and then he grabbed her and hugged her. He let her go as the pedestrian crossing lit up green.

"You know we're going to have to crush Atherton at Elite now, otherwise we're going to look pathetic," Moose said as they reached the other side of the road.

Camille paused. "I know." She smiled. "You better lift your game!" Then, with a punch to Moose's arm, she started back towards the school. Moose just gave a small shake of his head and went after her, grabbing her so she squealed and made everyone in the street look, but he didn't care. He didn't care what anyone except Camille thought. And right now she was too busy laughing to say a thing.


	17. Remember to Talk and Point

**A/N: **I apologize for taking so long to update. I've been busy lately juggling dance, football and the return of Harry Potter-mania (must not cry even though Dobby is gone!) so there's so little time for everything else. The dance crew are performing at the local Christmas festival so we're flat out (hopefully that answers your questions about whether I dance – yes, I do, and I choreograph as well). Imagine if I had a job to hold down too? Anyway, only four chapters to go and the big dance scenes start soon so let's bring this home…

Chapter Sixteen;  
Remember to Talk and Point

"HEY LADY!" Holly's loud, energetic yell came across the room and Camille's head snapped up quickly. "CHECK ME OUT!" She struck a pose before pointing to her ankle. The bandages were gone.

"Damn, I was hoping they'd have to put you down, like a horse." Camille grinned as Holly pretended to look shocked. She walked over, still a little tender on her injured ankle, but that would go in time. "Don't you have a class at the moment?"

"I dropped out of the Stretch classes. I really don't see any reason to sit around and stretch for an hour. Now trying to convince the school to run a Capoeira class."

Camille crossed her arms. "And let me guess – you're teaching it?" Holly shrugged. "You can't even dance the tango without injuring yourself, how are you going to do with something like Capoeira. You know how impossibly hard that is right?"

"Disbeliever!" Holly pointed an accusatory finger in Camille's direction but she was grinning and Camille just shook her head with a smile. "Anyway, what goes? What are you working on?"

"At the moment – the voices of worry in my head." Camille put her hands to her hips. "Elite and if I'm ever going back to New York and Moose and…"

"Now, girl-to-girl," Holly cut across, glancing up at Camille as she stretched her left leg out in front of her, rubbing at her calf to loosen it. "What's this whole business really about?" Camille frowned. "The real reason you were upset at Moose for leaving? I know about your first year at NYU, and that he didn't tell you, but you seem like a reasonable person Gage, the kind of girl who doesn't over-react to anything. So come on, spill."

After a few seconds of staring at the floor, Camille spoke. "He's never said it. You know 'I love you'. I've said it to him like a dozen times but never had a reply."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous but it hurts, a lot. You don't get it, he tells EVERYONE he loves them." Camille sighed. "A few months back we went to visit the Pirates and when we said goodbye he walked around telling each and every one of them that they were awesome, he loved them and that he'd be back soon."

"But you know that's just blokey jokey stuff. It's a bit different to full-on feelings. As far as I can tell, guys have only 50% of the feelings that women have, and even then they don't work properly. Like, they cry when their baseball team loses but laugh stupidly when someone falls off a cliff. Weird!"

"Moose is different, he's not like other guys, never has been. I guess when your two best friends are girls it's like that. But when it comes to saying anything remotely honest and big and scary, like telling me he was dancing when we were supposed to be doing university together, he suddenly turns mute. I remember the first time I said it I was trying to teach him to skateboard. He ran into a pole." Holly bit back a laugh. "For a guy who can move his feet like a pro, he's bizarrely uncoordinated."

"Oh I know. On our third day here he fell UP the stairs. There must be some sort of skill in that." Holly glanced sideways at Camille. "Even if he doesn't say it, you know he feels it, the way he talks about you and the fact he called you like, what 1000 times a day? Seriously, how many guys do that?" Camille shrugged. "I wouldn't be too worried about it. He'll say it eventually. Knowing Moose it will come out at the most inappropriate moment without the slightest relevance to what's happening at the time."

"That's true." Camille gave a weak smile, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. "Okay so, back to work. Want to learn some new moves?"

Holly grinned. "Lay them on me little sister!"

…

"Start the sentence like this…" Chris jumped a little and turned to find Moose watching him with a smile. "Just smile and say 'I wasn't spying, I was just making sure everything was alright.' Then nod like you're agreeing to something." Moose nodded eagerly and his hair shook.

"I wasn't spying!" Chris protested. Moose gave a knowing smile. "Don't look at me like that, I was just…" he paused. "I uh… making sure everything was alright." Moose grinned and nodded slowly and Chris copied, glancing back through the window into the studio. Moose followed Chris' gaze.

"Peering in windows is so 1900s my friend. These days we stalk people using a fantastic little thing called Twitter." Chris glanced sideways at Moose. "What? I'm in one of those moods."

"Why Camille?" Chris nodded back through the window where Moose watched Camille showing Holly a few moves. "I mean, of all the girls, why would you pick someone like her?"

Moose laughed. "'Of all the girls' makes it sound like people were lining up. Trust me – there was no lining up." Moose tipped his head a little and looked back at his girlfriend. "Anyway, she picked me, I just went along with it."

Chris smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guessed she wore the pants in this relationship."

Moose punched him softly in the arm. "She was hard to ignore at school." He smiled at the memories. "Camille was the girl in gym who'd catch the ball during Dodgeball and throw it right back at your head twice as hard."

Chris laughed. "That's your type?"

Moose shrugged then gave a mischievous smile. "Isn't it also yours?" Chris looked away. "It's pretty obvious you like Holly."

"Yeah, obvious enough for her to shut me down." He gave a shrug, trying to appear unfazed by the whole thing, but Moose didn't believe him. "It's pointless anyway because she's determined to win Elite, never stops talking about it, so she'll be off to LA if she has her way." He glanced at Moose. "And when was the last time she didn't have her way?"

"She only keeps having things her way cos you keep giving them to her." Moose prodded him in the arm with one finger. "Mate, you got it bad, I can tell."

Chris shook his head and turned away from the window, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Yeah, but what's the point? If we lose, I lose the school, and if she wins then she goes. Either way I lose." He shook his head. "It's easier if I just forget about the whole thing." Then, a slouch come to him that Moose had never seen before, Chris walked off. Moose glanced back through the window one last time and then left too.

…

Camille put her chin to her palms and pressed her elbows into her knees, just balancing on the basketball and staring at the concrete. Too caught up, she didn't even see Moose join her until he spoke. "I know I'm no basketball whiz, but I'm pretty sure that it's better if the ball goes in the basket."

"It's also better when words don't come out of your mouth." Camille glanced up, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

Moose nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll pay that." He crouched down to her height. "What's the problem?"

"Nothing," Camille lied with expertise. "Hey, up for a game?"

Moose frowned. "The last time we played basketball you made me promise never to do it again after I cost us the game."

"Yeah but that was 'never play in my team again', not 'never play again'. You're awful and I'm awesome, which is great when you're the competition." She stood up and spun the basketball on one finger for a few seconds.

"One game of 'round the world' then, but while you win, you talk." She frowned but Moose continued. "You are aware that I know when you're lying right? You have this little tick in your right eyebrow where it just kinda lowers on one side only." She frowned at him again, less confusion and more threatening this time. "Don't get me wrong, it's very cute, but stop lying to me!"

Casting her eyes skyward, Camille gave a soft smile and then threw the ball at his chest. "Fine. The deal is this – if you win Elite, we're going to separate sides of the country."

Moose stepped up to the first line then paused. "Well, you could always come too." He made the shot and beamed stepping up to the next line as Camille grabbed the ball and threw it back.

"What about my job Moose?" She gave an exasperated sigh and Moose's smile faded. "I'm not going to be one of those girlfriends that just follow their partner around the country. The 'Green-Room-Girlfriend'."

"So, what're you saying Cam? If I win then we're going to break up?" He missed the shot this time and Camille took the ball as it bounced her way. "Because I don't want that."

"That's not what I'm saying." She made the shot and they fell silent as Camille made the second and third as well. Eventually she gathered a deep breath and stopped, looking back at Moose. "But if you join this team then you'll be in Los Angeles for, well, god only knows how long."

"I'm not staying with them. I'll dance with them for Europe, help them out, but I'm a Pirate Cam, a Pirate for life, so I'll be back in NYC next year." She brightened a little. "So is that a good sign?" She just glanced away with a smile, taking the next shot. "What about if you win?"

Camille missed the shot, too focused on the question, and Moose took the ball with a grin. "I won't win."

"But," Moose took the shot and it went through without even touching the sides. "What if you do? Won't it be the same? You join Elite and I go back to the Pirates? You in LA and me in NYC?"

"Stop talking rubbish."

"Well, will you stay with them?" His next shot bounced away without even getting close. "Cos I know you secretly love dance as much as I do."

Camille grabbed the ball quickly. "I honestly don't know. Maybe. I just…" she stopped. "It doesn't matter cos I won't win!"

"Fine," Moose frowned softly. "But if you did win then I'd wait for you."

"You know, I don't care what Holly says, you're totally smooth."

Moose nodded slowly, looking smug, and then stopped. "Wait a minute… what did Holly say?" Camille just laughed. "So that's the only reason you've been all quiet?"

Camille shrugged. "Maybe." Moose frowned again so Camille continued. "I don't know, I guess it was originally about you coming here and then I saw the place and you're right, Eckhardt is incredible. I never thought I'd say it but I really like Philadelphia."

"So if I keep this job then you'll come down?"

"Weekends, days off, it's only a three-hour train ride after all." Cam smiled wistfully. "But if you do go to Elite then it'll be over."

"Hey, if I go to Elite then I win Eckhardt their school. If they won't hire me back after that then I was wrong and they're all jerks." He took one more shot but missed. "So I'm off for a year, you go back to work in NYC, and then we spend the rest of our days fighting over whether I'm coming to New York or you're coming here the next weekend."

"Oh no that's the easy part – every second weekend in NYC, Easter in Philly, Thanksgiving in NYC for the massive Thanksgiving parade and then Christmas in Maryland so your mum doesn't kill us for neglecting her." Camille took her second-last shot and it went through easily. As she re-gathered the ball she caught Moose's eye with a smile. "Now we know why I'm quiet, what about you?"

"Elite again," he gave a shrug. "If I do win then I'll be heading to this brand new place, without you, and trying to make it good."

"Been there, done that, remember?" Camille scoffed, walking slowly to the three-point line and dribbling the ball along with her as she did.

"Yeah but I don't have any plans to face another Kid Darkness-type again."

"I'm sure you'll find trouble within five minutes of arriving. You did it at MSA, in New York, and when you came here." Camille shook her head. "You're like a big dumb moth to a trouble flame." She held one hand up like a light bulb and two fingers like a moth and then made a buzzing sound as she rushed the hands towards each other. When they made contact she gave a popping sound and then the 'moth' fell away.

"You may have a point but still, never really done this kind of stuff alone before."

Cam beamed. "You're worried aren't you?" He looked away. "You think you won't fit in without someone on your side championing you?" She shook her head. "I can't stand in the background this time with a banner that says 'Moose rules', you have to go this one alone."

"But I'm not going to go far without you Cam." Camille smiled softly. "You're the Rocky to my Bullwinkle."

She laughed loudly. "Oh my god! That was the worst one-liner ever!" He shrugged. "Seriously though, you'll do more than fine."

He smiled. "I guess we'll see." Stealing the ball he stepped back a little and tried for his next shot. It missed spectacularly and bounced away. Camille chased after it and gathered it up as Moose continued. "I can't be any worse at fitting in than I am at basketball.

"True." As Camille returned to the three-point line she grinned at Moose. "And Gage for the win. The crowd is screaming," she commentated along to herself as Moose just cast his eyes skyward and shook his head. "They just can't get enough of this basketballing prodigy. Is she the next Michael Jordan? We think so!"

"Would you just shoot and get this over with? It's like execution at dawn," clutching his heart dramatically with his left hand, he stretched his right before him. "Please, make it quick, before the sun comes up."

"You missed your true calling as an actor, you know that right?" Camille muttered. Moose just shrugged with a smile. "For the win, here she goes," then she made the shot. It bounced off the backboard, hit the rim and then slowly fell through. "Oh yes, she's done it again!" She pumped the air with her fist. "Gage, Gage, Gage... the crowd can't get enough."

Moose gave a polite golf tap. "Well done."

Camille turned to him and bowed deeply, pretending to remove a bowler hat. "A-thank you!" Collecting up the basketball, she returned to Moose's side. "Really Moose, you'll be fine."

"You haven't answered my question though – will you wait for me if I do win?"

After a few seconds Camille finally smiled. "Of course. I waited two years for you to get your act together didn't I?" He smiled warmly. "What's another year then?"


	18. New York Here We Come Back

**Disclaimer: **Step Up not mine. Music is 'Last Ones Standing' by Example.

**A/N: **This is a bit of a higgledy-piggledy chapter because it's actually supposed to be taken as one of those musical training montages (kind of like the Pirates 'Fancy Footwork' training montage in the movie) so please, turn on 'Last Ones Standing' and try and make sense of the mess. 

Chapter Seventeen;  
New York Here We Come (Back)

Moose stuck his headphones in his ears and pressed play, glancing sideways at Camille who was seated beside him, her legs curled under her as she read a novel with her own headphones stuck in her ears. They were nearing the end of the journey and both Holly and Chris were already asleep, each taking up their own bench of seats as they lay out and snoozed. Camille had already stated she wasn't tired four times now, despite Moose's offer to be a pillow, and had taken to her novel ten minutes earlier when conversation had lapsed. It wasn't uncomfortable silence between the two, but had begun when the train driver had informed them they were now an hour out of New York. The nerves were beginning to rise in Moose's stomach and he decided not talking was his best option. Camille didn't seem to mind, stating it was about time she got back to her book anyway, and left him in peace with only his thoughts.

As a new song started up, a song Camille described as 'the boy band's hip hop', Moose thought back to the week that had been. It had begun with Monday morning's rousing wake-up calls over the PA by Chris, something that sounded ominously like a final countdown. Moose and Camille had just been walking in when they heard it, the sound of 'that's right people, six days to g…' ending abruptly with the sound of a 'hey, what are you…?' coming through the speaker before a thump and suddenly Holly's voice started up with a cheery 'happy Monday all!', causing Moose and Camille to laugh.

Their first training for the week began with Chris instructing them all to put their hands in together and cheer 'go Eckhardt', an experience that lead to Holly launching at him and riding his back until she managed to get him to the floor. Once down she sat on his chest until he surrendered.

Then there was the bizarre moment Moose had walked in to find Holly and Camille pulling faces in the mirror, doing impersonations of everyone around them. When Holly did a ridiculously good impersonation of Moose trying to think, complete with nostrils flaring, and Camille laughed until she bent over, he found it necessary to intervene. They each glanced at him sideways before hurrying from the room.

Late that afternoon they got into an argument about music. Moose was adamant that Timbaland was the only option, but then he had always been a huge fan so Camille admitted she wasn't surprised. In the end she threatened to never talk to him if he brought Timbaland up ever again. He said it was worth it so she hit him with her notepad and he fell to the floor faking a broken arm.

On Tuesday Chris instructed everyone to bring a little freestyle to the floor, giving everyone twenty seconds to express themselves in front of the group. Chris began with a strange kind of Russian Cossack dance. Camille rocked a Bollywood-inspired hand dance, her hips shaking to the music in ways that made Moose cough slightly as she finished and look at the floor. Holly brought an enthusiastic cheerleading style to her dance where she flipped and cartwheeled until she could barely stand without wobbling. And finally Moose did what he did best – some old-fashioned hip-hop, the old school style that was far too undervalued these days. As they finished Chris congratulated them because they'd just proven they each brought something new and original to the group, so now it was time to collaborate it for the group chorus of the piece. It didn't matter because before they could say a thing Camille decided she'd already come up with the choreography for that part. Moose and Holly opted to go with her dance before even seeing it. Chris called them all 'lazy jerks' and walked out with a strop.

Tuesday afternoon, as Camille started to try and teach them her choreography, conversation came back to the song. Moose remained stuck on Timbaland. Camille offered to fight him for it and he agreed but after a few slow-motion karate moves Holly intervened and told them that if they didn't hurry up and show her the moves she'd go find some food because she was starving. Grabbing her and hauling her over his shoulder, Chris carried her out of the training room, deposited her in the hall and shut the door behind her, dusting his hands as he returned.

Thankfully Holly picked up the moves quickly when she returned, but Moose and Chris weren't so fast. It began with a shift ball change into a drop right knee. The right arm was raised at a right angle as the foot was twisted twice. On the second time the right foot stepped out and the right elbow shot out to pull the left leg into a slide. Moose got this first bit on the third try before spectacularly falling over. Holly and Chris laughed as Camille dropped her head into her hands.

Moose got his revenge on Wednesday morning when he attempted to show her how to do his 'arm-swinging raising off the floor' move where he went down onto his haunches and then swung his arms until he lifted himself back to his feet. It was one of his favourite moves from the battle in the park in New York against Kid Darkness and figured that since both Holly and Chris already knew how to do it, it must be pretty simple. It wasn't. First Camille went down too hard, the second time she got halfway up before she fell backwards, and the third time she somehow managed to almost fall on her face. She didn't try a fourth time, just walked. Moose called her a quitter as she left.

At the same time Holly was trying to train in the adjacent gym, a job that was made a lot harder when Chris decided to intervene and make himself her personal trainer. He spent two minutes pressing up levels on the treadmill before Holly nearly fell and she stopped it, hitting him with her towel and making to return to the academy. He jumped straight on after her without lowering the level and gave up after nearly slipping himself. He didn't lower the level, deciding the next person would figure it out soon enough.

After lunch on Wednesday, a meal that had begun with Holly throwing an apple at Chris and ended when he threatened to dump a slushie on her head, Camille finally mastered the swinging arms move and the pair celebrated with an impromptu dance and fist thump, blowing it up at the end. Holly called them adorable. Chris called them bludgers and told them to get back to work. Holly decided this was the perfect time for them to master cartwheels, a necessary part of Camille and Holly's shared dance in the group dance. Chris told them he wasn't needed but Holly insisted. Camille blitzed a two-handed cartwheel into a single-handed one. Moose managed a lazy one where his legs stayed relatively together and thus looked a lot more like a sideways flip than a cartwheel. Then it was Chris' turn. Just as Holly had hoped, he failed miserably, managing the rotation but failing to land it properly and falling to his knees. Holly put a foot on him until he agreed to stop calling them names. He only relented when she dug her toe into his ribcage.

Just before dinner on Wednesday they looked up train timetables, Camille determined to leave early just in case anything happened. Holly remarked it was a three-hour train journey and that she was freaking out for nothing. Moose said Camille often freaked out about nothing so she twisted his arm around his back until he called mercy. When he was free and a decent distance away he stated she'd never been so violent before. She replied she'd never been told at the last minute that her boyfriend was leaving for a different city that night before either. He nodded and admitted she probably had a reason and then gave her a hug.

That night before they each went their separate ways Camille insisted on one last practice of the joint chorus, having issued them each with a list of the steps and told them to learn it alone. After the opening steps came a low clap into a hand rub, raise into a forward point, turn back, step and then turn to the front. They were doing well until Moose missed one of the four fist pumps that followed. Holly elbowed him in the arm and he groaned that it was 'pick on Moose day' and that he was going to bed.

Thursday went by with more training and practice before Friday came and they began to pack. Camille packed everything she had, determined to return home after this. She wanted to know if Moose would be coming back to New York as well, at least for his graduation, but he confessed he wasn't sure, it depended on how the competition went. She pretended she wasn't hurt by saying that he would be touring with the Elite dancers anyway so it didn't matter, but she stayed quiet for the cab ride to the train station that night.

When they got to the station and found their train delayed by an hour Holly went in search of food and Camille joined her, leaving Moose to admit to Chris that he didn't know what he'd do if he didn't win the Elite tour. Chris said he'd just have to win then. Moose realised that was always going to be easier said than done.

When time came to find the train, Camille started walking in the opposite direction to them before stopping and calling them back. Because of the delay the platform had changed from six to two. They made it to the train with barely a minute to spare, Holly pushing Moose inside and following him on just as the doors began to close. Finding themselves in the back carriage all alone, they dumped their bags and stretched out, taking whole seats to themselves. Camille crossed her legs in a corner and pulled out a book as Moose appeared behind Holly and Chris' seat, rising up from behind them in the creepiest way he could imagine. Twenty minutes in the ticket officer appeared and as he checked Camille's ticket Moose impersonated him. Her laughter caused the man to turn and glare at Moose as he just scratched his neck and pretended to not know anything. As the officer left Moose caught Camille's eye and she smiled. He was forgiven for now, but how long that lasted remained to be seen.

Forty minutes in Holly initiated a game of Marco Polo, a game that ended when Chris stuck out a foot and tripped her so she fell flat on her face. She picked up Camille's book then and began hitting him until Camille intervened to save her novel. After taking the book from Holly's hand she replaced it with a discarded newspaper and told Holly to continue.

When the war stopped Holly said she felt tired and stretched out, taking up a whole seat and laying her head on her bag. Chris copied her on the seat opposite and soon enough they were asleep. Moose removed a felt-tip pen from his bag and drew scars and moustaches on them, causing Camille to clutch her side as she fought the urge to laugh out loud.

Then, barely an hour outside New York, they each pulled out their iPods and went back to their own little worlds. Moose started to stare out the window, running Camille's dance through his head. They'd finally got it on Thursday night, something that lead Chris to cheer and inform them they were ready now. After the fist pumps came 'the soldier', a move that combined two sets of straight arms, a right elbow in left palm move and a military-like stamp. Then it was the 'swim and punch' into a spot turn, a step out, one last leg twist and as the girls did a belly dance-like move where they trailed their hands from their shoulders all the way down to their hips, the guys went tribal, stamping the floor with both feet before dropping to their haunches and giving the ground a slap. It was a pretty simple dance, nothing too advanced, but when done to the right timing it looked great as a group.

Nothing could stop them taking this title now.

It was as good as theirs.

But who among them would take it remained to be seen. Holly wanted it so badly it hurt to hear her talk about it, and Moose knew it would solve every problem he had right now, but neither Camille nor Chris showed any interest in it, Chris more determined to just get the money and save the school.

But whatever happened wasn't up to who wanted it more now, it was who was the best, and that choice was not up to anyone on this train right now.

Finally, as the sound in his earbuds faded away, Moose glanced over at the figure next to him. Her head pressed into his shoulder, Camille was fast asleep and snoring softly. With a smile Moose pulled his jacket off the seat beside her and covered her with it, popping his headphones back into his ear and returning to staring out the window. New York, here they come…


	19. Dance It Your Way

**Disclaimer: **Step Up still not mine. (Though Step Up 3 the DVD IS MINE! Bought it when it came out today. Watched it already! Still awesome!) Music is 'Tightrope (Wondamix)' by Janelle Monae featuring B.O.B.

**A/N: **Wow this took forever. I have to confess that this is my favourite of all the dances I've written (bad? yeah, probably) but hopefully some in the future will outdo because come on – it's Atherton! I would love to find some people who can actually perform it too. I think I put more time into choreographing this than I have any other dance I've ever done, even the ones in real life! How bad is that eh?

Also, the final of America's Best Dance Crew series 5 just aired here and Blueprint Crew were robbed so, this is for them! lol 

Chapter Eighteen;  
Dance It Your Way 

Camille took a very big breath as she wandered from the back of stage to take a look at the front where the crowd now gathered. The warehouse had been fitted out for the thing, lights hanging from the roof and three stages shooting out from a podium in the centre where four people now stood, talking amongst themselves. The crowd was massive, squashed into every empty space on the floor and standing on viewing platforms across the walls. There were thousands of people, maybe more, out there but Camille wasn't nervous, she was excited. Her eyes turning to the largest stage, the one to her left, she watched a banner fall from the roof to announce the warm-up act, ABDC runners-up from season 5, the Blueprint Crew. They were dancing energetically along to a remix of 'Good Girls Go Bad' by Cobra Starship and Camille couldn't take her eyes off them. So caught up, she didn't notice the figure appear beside her until she spoke, and Camille glanced sideways at Holly.

"Hey, why didn't we include that move?" She pointed as two of the dancers, Camille recognised them as Natalie and TL, were practically thrown into the air. They went incredibly high and the crowd screamed for more.

"Because the last time we tried anything even remotely like that, you injured your ankle and then spent a week sending Chris death threats from my phone."

"Oh yeah," Holly smiled as if it were a warm memory. The Blueprint Crew had just launched into some intrinsic step choreography and Camille frowned. Eckhardt didn't have the precision to pull off step choreo, though Camille had tried, and she worried the lack of it might work against them. She was about to talk again when they finished up and the four figures on the centre podium spoke. The MC seemed to be a tall, pretty dark-skinned girl and she tried to quieten the crowd down so she could start this thing.

"Alright guys, quit it already!" She grinned as she said it though and eventually the roars stopped as Blueprint Crew ran off-stage, leaving only TL behind. She rushed up to the others on the podium and joined them. "Welcome everyone to the Elite competition, the ultimate dance-off, we assure you. You all know why you're here tonight but just in case you missed the memo, let's recap. Three years ago Elite from San Francisco won Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew season 6. But life catches up to even the best dancers and they lost three crewmembers in the first year. Now Elite's on the lookout for two new members, one from right here on the east coast, to tour a massive Pepsi-sponsored tour of Europe with them!" The crowd screamed and Holly gave an enthusiastic round of applause. Camille gave her a smile. "So the best dance crews and schools from across the east coast have been sent invitations to compete. Three entrants from each school, one song and only one chance to shine!" She smiled at the four beside her. "But without further ado, here's your judges for the evening." The man at the end stood first. "One of the best choreographers on the east coast and a World Jam judge two years in a row – Steven 'Steel' Cooper." The man gave a curt wave but didn't speak and he just sat down quickly. "From tonight's opening performance – and didn't they rock guys? – Blueprint Crew's Thien-Long 'TL' Thuong."

"Ready to bring it crews?" TL roared, standing up. Petite and oriental, the Canadian didn't strike you on sight as being tough, but the hidden strength in her voice made Holly nod.

"I like her."

Camille chuckled as the MC continued. "Straight from the hip hop studios of Miami, it's Florida's best; 'GI' Gregory Pieters." A good-looking young dark-skinned guy stood up and waved with a smile.

"He can teach me a few moves any day." Holly muttered. Camille wasn't sure she was actually supposed to hear that so just smothered a smile.

"And last, but never least, from Elite itself; miss Lucille Quinn." The frizzy-haired blonde stood up and waved.

Holly looked at Camille. "She wouldn't be much older than you."

"She's twenty-three." She paused and looked at the girl. "She founded Elite, many years ago, back in San Francisco. Ex-cheerleader, hip hop dancer and actress. The girl can do anything."

"Clearly someone did their homework."

Holly's muttering was drowned out when Lucille spoke. "Hi everyone. I'm Lucille and I founded Elite. Three years ago we won America's Best Dance Crew and it was the highlight of our lives. But things have changed since then and we're looking for two new members to join the team. We need someone team-oriented, brave and a real leader. Someone who wants to dance, not just for work but also to live, to breathe some may say." She smiled and her face lit up. "At Elite we're not your average crew. When we entered ABDC we were the 'everything' team. Some crews had their gimmicks, their swagger, their style, but we had a little touch of it all. We need you to show us you can do hip hop and tricks, that stuff is basic enough, but at Elite we like to bring in every style of dance you can possibly think of, from cha-cha to cheerleading, tango to tap. You don't have to be the best at everything to make us stand up and take notice, you just have to try, and make us watch you when you do. People without character won't make it in Elite." She paused and held up a green flag. "But without further ado… let the competition begin." And then, with a wave of the little flag, it was on.

Holly looked at Camille. "Here goes nothing."

…

"From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; here is Atherton."

Seven figures walked onto the stage just to the left of where Camille stood with Chris as they went through the last of he and Moose's choreography. The announcement caught Camille's attention and she looked up to see four men and three women, led out by Erika and Paul Moore, walk onto the stage. The men wore black tailored pants, polished black shoes, a silver long-sleeved shirt that sparkled in the light with a black bowtie and top hat. The girls wore fitted black pants, short-sleeved silver blouses, tight black vests and black jazz shoes.

"Matching outfits too? God, they're gonna cream us!" Holly appeared from out of nowhere as usual with a rather unhelpful input.

"The judges won't vote based on looks." Camille said, trying to sound certain, but she wasn't so sure. The music started up and the team started to move, Paul and Erika back-to-back in the middle as the others rolled and turned around them.

"A slow start by their standards." Chris muttered. "You'd think Paul would've wanted to start big."

"He's a big starter? I thought the only thing big about him was his ego?" Holly grinned.

"He's a great dancer, trust me, you'll see."

Camille was about to make a comment about substandard back-up dancers (two had just missed their steps) when a curly-haired figure collected her around the shoulder. She regained her footing just in time to see Moose screech to a stop beside her. "Guess who I saw?"

"Have you been running?"

"I had to get here to see this but I got momentarily held up by, you won't believe who got an invite – Julian Walker and those retard Samu…" he stopped as he saw the team ahead of him. "Oh this should be interesting. They look like they just fell out of a 40s gangsta movie."

Holly frowned. "Your pants are died black and I'm wearing a different shade of green to the rest of you!" She gave her swing top a wave as if fanning herself with it. "Forgive me if I think our semblance of teamwork epic fails!"

"Would you two shut up and watch?"

They all turned back to the group before them as the song picked up. The girls had moved to the back of the stage and the other three guys were with them so now Paul Moore danced alone near the front. He'd swept off his top hat and raised his left hand to brush across his right shoulder. "_Well if you're looking for me I'm probably in metropolis_." Lifting his left foot he turned to his left with his arms up to his sides, gave a one-footed bounce and returned to the front leaving one elbow up and leaning to his right, dropping it and his body with it until it hit the floor. "_I do this for the love so this is non-profit shit_." Jumping to his left he stepped back together then lifted his left knee again, leaning his hands on it and dropping with it into a turn. Coming out he clapped his right hand three times across his chest, a basic step choreography move, leant to the left then pushed himself up and turned right, his hands out flat to the sides.

"Basic hip hop stuff." Moose muttered as Paul seemed to puppet across the stage along to the lyrics '_bored walking_'. "If this is all they have then we'll end them."

"If this is all they have then my name is Doris and I own fifteen cats." Chris muttered with his eyes locked on Paul. Camille would've smiled were it not for the fact she was pretty sure that was no joke. If Chris thought he was good then, well, he was great.

Bouncing up from a crouch, Paul waved his arms out and then back across his body while turning to the right then, leaning down, he slapped his foot and stopped in the exact same pose his male back-up dancers had adopted.

As the next part of the verse started the other guys began to dance too, kicking out their back foot and raising their front elbow, they stepped to face the front, dropping their right hand to their knee and twisted the knee out and back in time with the beat. "_I love all my haters cos my haters is what got me here_." Turning left they gave a brief moonwalk before they froze and Paul executed a back flip without his hands touching the ground. Stepping to the front, legs apart and knees bent, they gave a quick point forwards before stepping back to the right, swinging their hands along to '_groupies try to copy me'_. Then, with one dramatic drop back to their knees, they jumped high into the air and stopped with their right palm out flat to the side.

Now the girls moved too, canes in their hands and borrowed top hats on their heads. "_But there are no apologies for dropping all these prophecies._" Leaning to the right, girls leaning into their canes, they jumped onto their toes briefly before twisting back to the front. Hands out flat like a 'stop' motion, in time with '_juggernauts ain't stopping me'_, they bounced back onto their heels and bent towards the floor, hitting it once then jumping straight up again. Turning back to the left, the boys raised their right foot as the girls raised their canes, and they strummed them like a guitar before dropping it, tapping their foreheads (the girls touched the brims of the hat), raising their foot behind them and slapping it. "_Guess I'm just atomically built the way that I, B.O.B, wanna be_." With a full slide on one foot, they turned back to the front as the girls stopped and swept off their hats, leaning into their canes and freezing with one foot tucked behind the other. The boys put one hand on their chest and the other out flat beside them and pushed down, bending their knees and leaning back away from their hand before stopping and turning right, accepting the hats from the girls.

"_B.O.B wanna be_." Putting the hats back on, the guys slid their fingers across the brim, lowering it over one eye only, then paused. On '_we slide on a beat_' the guys slid back so the girls were almost in line with them. Dropping their canes hard, the girls leant against them, pushing themselves onto their toes for '_we tightrope_' as the guys jumped up onto their toes too in a very Michael Jackson-like pose. Moose growled. Michael Jackson-esque was his thing. Moose's wishing didn't stop it however as the boys stepped onto their right foot, putting their hands on their hats and pulling their heads down to face the floor, snapping one pointed finger way out to their right. At '_honestly we live the type of life people would die for_' they gave a full turn on their left foot, right hand laid out parallel to the ground ahead of them and stopped with their legs apart and knees bent, hands flat on their thighs. Turning to the left they gave a big kick with their right foot, knee still slightly bent, then turned their back on the crowd. Finally on '_keep on tippin' on the tightrope' _they pointed right with their elbow bent into their sides, turned to the left again to face back to the front, waved their arms out, kicked their left foot and gave a slide to the right.

Through them stalked the girls, Erika half a step ahead of the others as she passed by her brother. She held her cane out in front of her like a policeman's baton. The boys hadn't frozen however, pointing into the air in time with the girls stabbing the floor with their canes like they were putting some small animal out of its misery. The boys had leaned back into their left leg, their knees bent away from them but all of a sudden, perfectly in time, their knees twisted in and then back out again before they froze. The girls, especially Erika, were in their element at the front of stage however. "_Baby baby whether you're high or low_." Raising her cane above her head, Erika winked at the audience before bringing it back down on '_low_' so it sat at shoulder height. With her left foot out she curled the knee in as she pushed the cane right. She repeated the move again on the second repeat, this time right foot and left for the cane. "_You've got to tip on the tightrope_." Turning it with both hands, it hit the ground on their right and they leaned into it, bending seductively. "_Now let me see you do the tightrope_." Standing up straight they dragged the cane across the floor in front of them before tapping it again on the ground at the end of the sentence. "_And I'm still tipping on it_." Raising one hand to blow a kiss, Erika kicked her left foot out and the cane turned up. At the same time the boys fell in line, turning to their right and looking out over their left shoulder. As the cane hit the girls' right shoulders they turned their back on the audience and walked away.

Camille frowned as Erika looked back at the wings and spotted them watching. She gave a very cold smile.

Onstage the boys had started to move again, sliding forward on their left, slapping their hands once then twice across their chests. Camille's frown only deepened as she saw what had just started among the guys. Step Choreo. She put her hands to her eyes and didn't watch.

"_Greetings, welcome to the meetings of the minds, they be thinking all the time about defeating all the blind." _Stepping forward, the men raised their right knee to slap with their left hand, dropped it and rose the foot behind them to slap again. Then, in a windmill motion, they pushed their right arms out wide and swung them around three times, slapping their left hands each time it passed and stepping forward in time with each slap. After the third the last windmill passed beneath the raised left knee and slapped the left hand one last time, causing the arm to wave out wide as the right knee was raised now and slapped by first the right hand and then the swinging left. The movement leant the body to the left and the right foot stepped across the left as a hand was raised to the forehead. "_Following, swallowing, drinking of the time honoured tradition_," Tapping the left foot once to make it bounce, their legs were spread again as they stepped back left with their left foot. Grabbing the top of their pants they shuffled forward, rising onto their toes and then back down again along to '_drinking of the time honoured tradition_' and then they froze. Chris gave a sigh and Camille looked up. Behind them the girls were executing some sort of Bollywood routine but no one could keep their eyes off the guys.

At 'of _keeping in a line' _the four guys stopped and then back-flipped, perfectly in time, as the three girls came through the middle of them, quick-stepping forward, their hands to their sides shaking out flat as they moved. On '_figure eight' _they stopped and rolled their chests forward, making a wave down to their hips before they stepped out, one leg at a time on '_then I pop'_ and faced to their left, waving their hands and chests forward, backward and then up and over perfectly in time to '_rock all night'_. Clicking their right hand, they dropped their left to their chests and turned their backs on the audience for a moment before facing back on '_mantle stop' _and holding their hands out flat to the audience. Shaking the hand out on '_and if they_' they turned their faces to the left, putting their right hand to their mouth like they were shocked then propped one heel up and slid backwards, pulled away by the guys behind them as Paul Moore walked forward and executed some break-dancing moves. The girls had picked up the canes again and were turning them in circles around their heads and feet as the boys ducked then jumped over them before two of the dancers grabbed Erika's arms and pulled her back on '_revolutionaries on the chapel top_' and she dropped her cane into the hands of the third male dancer. Held by the two guys beside her, she ducked as the male dancer flipped over her back and then was lifted off her feet as a female dancer slid under her, the two guys beside her depositing her straight back to the ground where her cane fell back into her hands.

"It's only halfway through and I'm already worried." Holly muttered.

Moose glanced sideways at her. "This is average stuff so far. We can take them." He turned away as someone pulled at his other sleeve and he looked back to find Camille standing beside him, her face white as she watched the group on stage.

"Don't speak too soon yeah?" She pointed towards the Atherton team. They'd just finished a repeat of the chorus, the same moves as the first one, when the girls threw their canes away behind them and hats were tossed away unceremoniously. All of them dropped to a crouch, kicking their legs out underneath them as they stayed supported by their hands, and then giving a full turn on the floor. "_I can rock with the fellas and rock a stage a Capella._" Dropping to their backs, they kicked their feet up and raised themselves back into a crouch. Across the lyrics they rose randomly, scattered, before Ericka stood last. "_Never! Can you hear me? I am unpredictable like the weather_." They turned to the front quickly on '_never_' before pointing forward with one finger, leaning into the right in time with the beat. On '_me_' their left hand snapped to their heads and they stood straight again as if pushed back into place by the hand. Holding their right arm out as if looking at the time, they put their left hand to their hips and took three steps to the right, moving their arms pointing up and down before they paused on '_weather_' and pointed straight up to the sky. On '_ta'-ta-talkin' bout me_' they took three tiny steps forward in time with the words and then froze in their own positions, all facing away from one-another. On the next line Ericka was the only one to move, now the only one facing the front, as she pushed her right hand to her stomach and lent forward, flicking her head up and bringing the left arm around over her head. Then, throwing both arms out wide, she stepped back. "_Jump on the elevator, baby we on the next level_." Taking a step to her right she leant down and smacked the floor and the people on her right jumped back to life and then she faced left and stamped her foot as those to her left did the same. "_I'm just dropped and I've been on the cover, covers._" The others around Erika moved to block her before stepping aside to form a picture frame with their arms leaving Erika standing in the frame just grinning and posing. Moose groaned aloud.

"So lame!"

But they weren't done yet. "_Black and white tux, ain't no need for no other colours_." Hands to their hips they all stepped away from the 'picture frame' and into their own positions. Ericka stood in the middle with her hand held up like she was applying make-up to her face while looking in a mirror. "_Ta-ta-talkin' 'bout_." With her left hand up flat like a mirror, she curled the right hand up as she stepped forward, bringing both hands up to her face and moving her hand like a duck's mouth. "_Wha-wha-why don't she change her clothes?_" Grabbing their vests around the neck, each member of the crew seemed to drag themselves forward by the vests or shirts and then stopped on 'change her clothes' and freeze. "_Well they didn't seem to mind the last three times I posed in Vogue_." Only Ericka moved now, mouthing along to the words as she made Madonna-esque vogue movements over her face and shoulders. Then she was grabbed by two of the male dancers behind her and lifted.

After that Camille turned and walked away, unable to watch anymore, and the rest of the team followed. Holly's usual smile had gone, Moose was silent and Chris looked as white as a ghost. "That was a bad idea. We shouldn't have watched."

She heard a loud cheer over the music as Atherton did something else incredible. Chris nodded slowly. "Maybe, but it is better the devil you know, so…" he paused. "We have to pull out the big guns."

"Exactly how big?" Holly tried to clarify.

"The throw." He looked at Moose who swallowed deeply but nodded. "The hip hop tango." Holly frowned but didn't disagree. He stopped on Camille. "The spin."

Moose spoke up this time. "I don't know about that one. It's dangerous and I'm not sure."

"It'll be fine…" Camille stopped as the music ended and the crowd roared. The judges were speaking now and they all listened in horror as they spilled out line after line of love for the stuck-up Moore crew. Camille finally spoke over them. "We've done it twice without dropping me so we can do this again." She looked at Moose. "We can do this." Slowly but surely he nodded his agreement.

Chris gave a weak smile. "Okay." He led Holly away to talk to her about the tango moves as Camille fished into her bag nearby, ignoring Moose's worried look.

Eventually he just spoke. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Moose asked, glancing sideways at Camille as she pulled on her gloves.

She nodded quickly. "What choice do we have? You heard them: 'hard to follow', 'set the bar high' and 'have to do a lot to beat that'. We have to go all out."

"You trust me?"

There was no pause. "Yes."

Moose frowned. "You didn't even have to think about it?"

Camille wiped some talcum powder between her hands, raising a small cloud of dust as she slapped her palms together, but he could see her face through it and there was no concern or lies upon it as she answered. "What's there to think about? I trust you." She pulled her cap on and tighter to cover most of her face. "Let's do this."


	20. Give It All You've Got

**Disclaimer: **Step Up still not mine. Music is 'Written In The Stars' by Tinie Tempah and Eric Turner.

**A/N: **I apologize for how long this took. I've had a very long holiday as you can tell but I'll be back to full strength soon, as long as I can tear myself away from a certain addictive TV show. I have a problem. Anyway, two quick updates here (chapter 20 will be up Monday) so enjoy.

Sorry it's so long. I may have got a little carried away. It's 5600 words. Woot! lol. 

Chapter Nineteen;  
Give It All You've Got 

"From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eckhardt Academy of Dance."

"That's our cue." Chris held up a fist. "We ready?" They each gave it a hearty thump as they walked past him onto the stage, the bright lights blinding them momentarily as they stepped out of the dark backstage area. They took their places around the stage as the music began.

"And here's Eckhardt, the underdogs of the competition and with the misfortune of following Atherton they'll certainly have a lot of work to do." The MC was particularly scathing, causing Camille to frown. "Competing for Elite from Eckhardt are number 14: Holly Given, 15: Robert Alexander and 16: Camille Gage. Take it away Eckhardt."

"_Oh written in the stars a million miles away, a message to the main oh_." They started moving slowly, rising out of the sides of the stage, Holly tumbling forward to stop in the middle of the stage, raising herself slowly to her feet just in time to see a familiar figure in the front row of the crowd. Her father. She grinned at the sight of him and he waved. Turning back to face the others she caught Chris' eye and he understood who the man was. As she moved back to the others he spoke.

"You invited him?"

Holly frowned. "No, so how did he know?" She rolled her shoulders around and turned side-on to the audience, trying not to look at her father this time. He was distracting her. "You didn't invite him?"

"I don't even know him." Chris stamped his foot once in time to 'never change'. "I guess he's been following your progress over here?"

"If you invited him I'll kill you Chris Barry," but before Holly could finish her threat the beat picked up and Chris nodded for her to dance.

"LET'S GO!" With Chris' last yell, in time with the words from the song, Holly leant down, facing side-on to the audience then gave a small hop and walked forwards to the front of the stage. Behind her the others remained still, frozen in their poses, as Holly danced. "_Yeah, you're listening now_." Jumping to face the front, legs apart and slightly crouched, she held her arms before her in fists, turning one, pulling it in at the elbow, then punching back out. "_They say they ain't heard nothing like this in a while_." Jumping on the spot she moved her right shoulder forward, then rolled her left and brought her elbows up to her sides, bouncing as she stepped forward. Mid bounce she turned to the side, leant back and rolled up from the hips. "_That's why they play my song on so many different dials._" Stamping her back foot, she span forwards in two full pirouettes then stepped out with her hands to her thighs, held out flat with the palms facing up. "_Cause I get more hits_," snapping her elbow up over her head, right then left, she clapped her hands together and dropped then slowly down over her face as she kicked her right foot up behind her on 'hits'. Then, opening her palms across her face, she turned her head to the right and trailed them down her face and lowering herself until her knees hit the ground.

At the exact same time, during '_than a disciplined child'_, Moose started to move. Jumping forward to the middle of the stage he executed a half-split, his back-leg bent allowing him to push himself back to his feet quickly. In time with '_brraps brrraps_' he gave a jog forward, waving his hands at his sides, before launching into a typically Moose style. "_Man I'm like a young gun, fully black Barrack._" Giving a full body roll and wave, Moose moved his right hand across his knees, bending them in and out as he did. He then moved his hand up to his torso, rolling his shoulders and leaning forwards then backwards as his hand passed through the air in front of him. Then, tapping his shoulder to propel him forward, he gave a cool walk across the stage, a natural bounce in his step before he jumped to a stop on '_massive attack_'. On "_I only make hits_," he smacked the centre of his chest with his right arm then gave a quick full turn on his toes, stopping with his feet apart on '_hits_', turning his heels in quickly so he looked momentarily bow-legged. "_Like I work with a racket and bat, look at my jacket and hat_." Finally, kicking his right leg up with a slight twist to it, true Michael Jackson style, Moose faced left and moon-walked across the to the right of stage, waving his jacket along with him as he did.

As Moose finished with his moonwalk Camille walked forward, her left arm held straight out as she turned her right in a small series of punches. At the front of the stage she stopped and gave a small throw and kick, hopping back a little before lifting her left into a right angle at her side on '_so down to earth'_. Stepping left she dropped the elbow, faced right and throw her left arm across herself, turning in a full circle. "_I'm bringing gravity back_." With her left hand wedged into her hip, she dropped her right hand to the floor, lowered herself and slid through on her knees, leaning all her weight on her right arm. At '_adopted by the major_' she dropped her left hand to the floor to join her right, pushed herself into an push-up then raised herself to look to the front, her left hand up in the air. At '_I want my family back_' she lowered her arm again and split her legs, pushing herself to her feet. Turning to the front on '_people work hard_' she slid forward a little on her toes, balancing perfectly on the tip of her sneakers for a second before dropping back to her flat feet again. Then, taking a step to her left on '_look I'm just a writer_', she rolled forward from her lips, crouched down and pushed herself into a shoulder freeze just to the right of the centre as Chris broke out of his pose to bring home the first verse.

Sliding forward on his toes Chris put one arm in the air flat up like a stop sign, his elbow at an angle, then left the other flat below it. In a robotic move he moved it down to the other, smacking it before executing a full anti-clockwise turn on his heel, stopping as he came back to face the front. "_Damn, I used to be the kid that no one cared about_." On '_damn_' he flicked his right arm forward, out straight, and curled his left around it, rolling both in so his elbow stuck at his sides and his hands fell flat to his thighs. Stepping forward he waved his arms forward wide and down, stepped again and did the same but now up above his head then clapped them together on _'cared about_' and brought them down like he was about to pray. "_That's why you have to keep screaming until they hear you out._" Then, locking them in an 'L' shape across his body he gave a slow full turn, clockwise this time, one foot balancing him as the other stepped out and slid across the floor, the heel flat to the ground unlike the first turn he'd done on his toes. The flat heel made gaining momentum a lot more difficult but Chris made it look easy. Then, finally he came to a stop, crouching a little with his hands held in front of him in small fists, his elbows to his thighs. Then, the others began to move.

It was the old hip-hop tango, a piece Camille had insisted on having in the final dance, but with a few minor changes. Of course now the skirts were gone, replaced by track pants, the tango section wasn't quite as prevalent, but she hoped the judges would recognise it anyway. "_Oooh, written in the stars_." Raising themselves up off the floor or just stepping into position, they stopped facing the front, boys a few steps ahead of the girls. Then, raising their hands across their face, fingers splayed, the girls stepped forward quickly. They stopped on '_stars_' and tapped the ground in front of them with their right foot, sliding a circle with their toe towards the boys so they were forced to jump over the leg when it reached them, stopping in a crouch. The girls took two steps back onto their heels and as the boys stood on '_million miles_' and offered a hand to the girls, they took it and were pulled in for a full turn, dripped on '_to the main_' before being released on '_oooh_'. "_Seasons come and go_." Facing the front again they turned their heads to the left and back to the front quickly, stepped forwards and raised the right knee to hit with their left hands, pushing it back to the floor. Jumping back to their heels on '_but I will never change_' they leaned forwards, taking a few shuffled steps forwards again, then stopped and flicked their right arms up and over their heads, bending into a deep crouch and smacking the floor with the right hand as it came right over and around. "_And I'm on my way_." Then they stood, left arm across their chests, and pulled at their shirts as if dragging themselves back into position.

Now standing in a line Holly stepped forward and gave a chug and throw into a sassy shoulder shake, rolling her head forward and stepping to the left as Moose came through on the second '_oh oh oh_'. Stepping forward slowly in a puppet move, Moose leant down, bouncing off his back foot before turning his back to the audience and, holding his hand over his shoulder like he was tugging a piece of string, he grinned and shook his butt in the air. Camille smothered a grin as the crowd of girls near the front went a little wild. He leant into a bow before sliding to the left to make room for Chris. Stepping forward he kicked his right foot straight up leaving it suspended there until his right hand came around and pushed it back down then, turning left, he crossed his back leg behind the front, pulling his hand down with his back arm, gave a full turn on both feet and landed with his legs apart and his arms out wide. He then stepped aside and as the fourth '_oh oh oh_' started only Camille was left and she stretched her foot forward, leaning down into the leg elegantly like a ballerina. Then, just as she was about to turn, she fell. The music stopped, eliciting a scratch like a record player had just been thumped out of the groove. The others stopped and looked towards her, freezing in their poses. Pushing her hair back off her face Camille looked up at the judges and the crowd. It had all gone deathly silent. Then, with a grin, Camille laughed and instantly the music began again. Up in the judges stands Lucille beamed, understanding the move, and noted it down on the paper in front of her. Reaching one hand up over her head, Chris stepped forward and effortlessly pulled Camille back to her feet. "_Yeah, I needed a change_." Kicking her feet out again, Camille broke into a simple tap routine, beaming smile stuck to her face as the crowd caught on that it had been part of the routine and went back to cheering. "_When we ate we never tip cos we needed a change_." The tapping stopped as Camille gave one last tap kick and then curled herself into a backwards flip, a slow-motion move over the arm Chris was holding behind her. She fell back onto her feet and froze into a pose as the others moved in slow motion out of theirs, the boys stepping out and to either side of the girls. "_I needed a break_." The girls pretended to run into each other, as if closed in by the boys, as Moose stole the hat right off Camille's head and pulled it over his unruly black mop and Chris grabbed Holly around the waist. "_For a sec I even gave up believing and praying_." Then, dumping her unceremoniously behind him, Chris stepped forward to face the front and Moose joined him. Camille followed Holly to the back where they leant against one-another, crossing their arms as the boys danced alone.

"_I even done the legal stuff and was leaded astray_." With legs apart, the boys dropped their hands to their hips and turned their heads to the right, turning both legs with them then back out again quickly before they stepped right and dragged the left leg across to meet it. Crouching forwards Chris pointed to Moose as he grabbed his hat and faced Chris, body roll from the floor right up his body and to his head, pulling the hat from his head and flicking it behind him where Camille stepped forward to catch it in one hand. At the same time Chris smacked himself in the chest, pushing himself backwards to rest on his heels. "_But have you ever been so hungry it keeps you awake?_" Both jumped forwards to face the front then, raising and quickly dropping their arms and stepping back to raise themselves to their toes, quick-stepping and jumping into a crisscross, kicking their right foot up to slap at the front then behind them. Facing to the right again they jumped on their left foot, kicked the right behind them, gave another crisscross while jumping right and stopped facing to the left with their left heel on the ground, toes up in the air.

On '_great_' the girls moved again as the boys clapped. Camille pulled her hat back on as they jogged to stand next to the boys, placing their hands together on the right side of their faces. "_It feels like a long time coming._" Flicking the hands out flat across the front of their faces, the crew staggered themselves a little as they gave a 'walk like an Egyptian'-like pose, hands out flat to the left, and stepped left. Next they raised their right hand (which was stopped across the front of their faces anyway) to a visor across their eyes on '_day_' and stamped their left foot in time. Flicking their arms up, elbows bent slightly, they stepped forward once and rolled their right fist around their head and punched it forwards on '_plan_'. "_One day I had a dream and tried to chase it._" Flicking the right arm out to the side at a right angle, they shot it back across their front quickly, palm out flat now, and stepped left again. Then they rolled both arms up over their heads again and stepped forwards in time, punching the right fist and throwing it forwards again, leaning into the punch. "_But I wasn't going nowhere_." Leaning back with a slight step they rolled both arms forward like they were throwing in a football from the sidelines, grabbing their shirts and flicking them as if they were fanning themselves as they took three steps back. Here the small bunch of students that had joined them for the trip appeared and the crowd roared. There were five in total – three boys and two girls – and they all joined in for the final part of the dance as they all ran forward at a crouch on '_running man_' and then shimmied back to full height.

The two girls grabbed Camille by each hand and pulled her back as Moose was swamped by the boys leaving Holly and Chris alone at the front of the stage. It was the first of the late additions and Camille watched with a furrowed brow, though she knew that ruined the dance's image, as Holly gave two full pirouettes right into Chris' arms. He grabbed her and turned her, stopping to face the front, his arms over hers. The final piece from the hip-hop tango. Camille held her breath as Holly curled her leg up and Chris lifted her off the ground gracefully, her arm curled over his shoulder. "_Trying to change a tenner to a hundred grand_." Chris slid away to the right as he put Holly back on her feet, his hands falling to his sides, as she curled her hands one over the other and then rolled them over her head. She gave a slow roll on '_no one cares_' as Chris stretched out a hand and Holly slapped her right hand into it softly. Then, on '_just gotta_' he tugged her to him for the dip. Camille caught Moose's eyes as they succeeded in the first two drops then Holly's grip loosened for the last drop. This was where they'd stuffed it up in practice, leading to Holly's injured ankle. But they stuck it this time, Holly suspended just millimetres from the floor, heels flat to the ground, as the ground cheered. Camille had barely a minute to register they'd passed one of the three new challenges before she had to start dancing again.

"_Oh written in the stars_." Jumping forward, Camille and the girls kicked their legs out to the sides at almost right angles, one side at a time, and getting faster as they moved closer to Chris and Holly. After the fifth kick Chris pulled Holly back to her feet and they stepped off to the right as the girls stopped into a slight crouch, kicked their right leg across their body, and stepped back with their legs apart again, crouching still. "_A million miles away_." Turning the right knee in and back out, the girls punched both arms forwards and back in synch then lifted themselves out of the crouch for a second, back into it and then repeated the knee turns and punches with both legs. Finally, pushing her chest forwards, Camille snapped her feet back together and turned, young student Jeremy standing behind her, now kicking his legs as he stood on his hands. He walked between the two girls who were still turning their knees in and out as Camille disappeared off to the left of the stage. Jeremy finished on '_main_', falling back to his feet with a grin, and all three of the kids jumped up and left, Jeremy running off the left and the girls to the back where Holly now stood at the back of the stage. Moose and the other two boys were in front of her and the students moved forwards in a kicking and clapping routine which was basic but they were so in synch it was great to watch. Then Moose moved, falling hard to his knees and giving a knee glide on '_seasons come and go_' before falling to his side. "_But I will never change_." Using his feet only, Moose pushed himself back to a standing position and stepped to the right as Holly jumped forwards, stopping and falling straight into a split. She then leaned forward, her palms to the ground, snapping her legs together behind her and leaning her chin flat on her palms. Chris grabbed her feet then and pulled her back behind Camille and Moose, her chin on her hands and grinning as she was pulled. She jumped back to her feet behind the others as she was pulled into position.

Staggered now, within jumping distance of forming a straight line, they curled one arm over the other and then flicked it back up to the side of their head, grabbing their ears or in Camille's case her hat. With legs spread wide, they half-crouched, pushing their arms either right or left, depending on which side of the stage they were on, then jumped up into the air quickly, pushing themselves into a line behind Chris with their arms covering their faces. The move was so quick it was barely noticeable but had taken ages to master. It was all over in three seconds. Holly stood at the back and as the others moved away, Chris to the right and Camille and Moose to the left to prepare for their big piece, Holly gave two full pirouettes to the front, the two young girls with her. The girls slid to the ground in full splits as Holly stepped forward on her left foot, leaned forward to hit her foot with her right hand, then pointed back at the two figures behind her. In the time it had taken Moose now had Camille in an almost-tango hold, Camille's left foot wrapped around his knee as his arms held her waist. Then, with a small crouch for momentum, he lifted Camille right off the ground and half-threw her into the air, maintaining one hand to steady her on her waist. Then, as she fell back to the stage, he caught her easily as she leaned back, falling out of the hold so her head stayed inches from the floor, and she heard the commentator again. "My god, I've never seen such disregard for the girl's safety. She's being tossed around like a ragdoll. The judges are caught between straight tens and kicking Eckhardt right out of the game. If they can pull it off this competition is going to get a lot closer!" It was that last comment that made Camille smile as she put her hands flat on the ground and Moose pushed her feet over so she landed back on her feet. Dropping to a crouch, she held her hands above her head and Moose took them, lifting her up as she kicked her legs out wide, an elite tango move they'd picked up from a few select lessons with an old friend from NYU, the sweet but mouthy Erin Garcia, and as Moose pulled her off the ground he swung her right around himself and deposited her to the ground behind him. The crowd cheered, but they weren't done yet. Snapping her legs together, she rolled onto her front and held her arms out and Moose reached through his legs and pulled her through. Once through she turned back onto her back and rolled her legs right over her head before stopping on her knees halfway across the stage. She dropped her arms behind her and looked up at the lights, staying completely still. Meanwhile Chris and Holly had moved to either side of her and Moose came with them. They crouched down, hands locked together on the floor, and Moose stepped into them preparing for the big throw. It had been practised before now but not originally intended to be included in the piece, but this was what the big guns meant. It was a throw but more than that it was a throw OVER the stoic figure of Camille kneeling on the floor between Moose and the front of the stage. If they got it right it would be epic. If not then Camille would probably be eating with dentures come next week, but to them it was worth the risk. Now raised off the floor Moose bent his knees and pressed his hands into Chris and Holly's shoulders then, with a single bounce from all three, he flew. Camille saw the whole thing as around her Chris and Holly stepped with him prepared to pull Camille out of the way if they'd misjudged it. But they hadn't. Moose landed a little over a foot in front of Camille, staying on his feet just long enough to drop one fist to the ground to steady himself. The crowd screamed even louder than before and the MC couldn't be heard over them. "_Eric Turner, let's go_." As the beat picked up, Chris and Holly turned to the crowd again, fists held to their sides, and they punched down, hitting each beat, as they sank to the ground. Moose moved with them, leaning down as Camille pulled herself to her haunches, the move hidden from the majority of the crowd by Moose's frame in front of her. Then, once they got there, the song gave an enthusiastic '_woo_' and they bounced straight back up again, jumping so high they actually left the floor before landing right into their next move, the original chorus routine they'd been practicing the week before they came. Camille, who was at the back of the four after the throw and floor punches, watched the others doing her moves and smiled. It had taken them long enough to learn it but when it mattered, they stuck it. Finally, at the end, just as the song hit '_seasons come and go_' Camille slid back to her knees, crouching down so her back stayed flat up in the air and her legs were tucked beneath her. The others parted, moving to the left and right, and the crowd burst into raucous applause as two of the students used her as a launching board to flip and jump over her before she rose to her feet, flicked her hair forwards and then stepped into her final pose. The applause didn't end for the last ten seconds of the song as Holly twisted onto her haunches and fell back into a yoga pose Camille still couldn't do. Moose finished in a handstand, his left arm curled under him and his right pushed forward to keep him from falling, and Chris had stopped resting onto his knees with his arms crossed over his chest. The five students with them hadn't posed, too caught up in the excitement of the crowd, but no one paid them much heed. They knew that when the commentator spoke one last time.

"There are no words for that. Eckhardt, that was, incredible."

Camille just grinned.

…

"And that was the last performance guys. Now we'll take a brief break while the judges agonise and deliberate," the MC continued but back in the wings Camille stood wringing her hands as about her the younger members of Eckhardt crew stood around either messaging friends, talking eagerly or Tweeting about what they'd seen. Camille wasn't quite so excited and since walking off the stage and seeing Ericka Moore's arrogant, smug face, she'd been quiet. Moose had run off to watch the Samurais, who had performed right after Eckhardt, and see how many Pirates he could round up. The Pirates hadn't made a team appearance but he was certain the MSA crew were here somewhere. He thought he'd seen Monster five minutes after they came offstage. And Holly and Chris were off somewhere in their own secret conversation that Camille didn't want to interrupt. So she'd been left with the kids to watch. It had been alright when it started but now judging was beginning she wished she had at least one ally.

"Hey, I know you." Camille glanced up into the eyes of a young Middle Eastern girl she'd seen before. "Yeah, you were from the Pirates."

Camille understood now. "And you're from the Samurais. What do you want?"

The girl held out a hand. "I'm Esme." Camille didn't take the hand and eventually Esme shrugged. "Fine, I was just looking for some company, but I guess you're not it." She gave a small sideways frown, raising her eyebrows as she shrugged again. "Shame really, I was about to say you looked pretty cool. Guess I was wrong."

"Where's your crew?"

"What's left of them you mean?" Esme took a seat across from Camille and eventually Camille sat too, feeling stupid standing over her. "Samurais are dead. Kid Darkness is off to that new Brooklyn crew unless he wins Elite and Julian's got no idea. Picked up this NYC nightclub reject. Some friend of Natalie apparently."

"You scared of being outshone?" Camille smirked.

Esme waved her hand lazily. "Don't even care. Samurais are over anyway. Crew coming up through Queens. Reckon we'll take the city. Brooklyn won't know what hit them. And University? Pirates can dream of being anything again."

"You're a class act Esme, you know that? You just come here to tell me the Pirates and Samurais are dead?" Esme smirked back. "If I see Julian before this night ends I'll remind him to keep an eye on you." Camille stood and turned away from her.

"What do you care?" Esme stood now too. "I just saw the final 10 list. You made it Gage. Well done." Fishing into her black jeans Esme pulled out a card with a number on it. "All girl crew in Queens. If Elite doesn't work out for you, call me." She flicked it at Camille and walked away. Camille picked up the card and glanced at the number before turning to the young blonde female dancer beside her. She was twelve but had been watching the whole exchange with understanding etched across her face. "Lesson for today Gracie," Camille smiled at the girl as she ripped the card in half. "There's piranhas in these waters."

"Cam!" Moose's voice made Camille turn as Holly was with him. "Your number was called. We're top four!" Camille gaped. "On stage, two minutes."

Camille looked at Holly. "You too?"

Holly shook her head. "Nah, but it's okay. You got Moose though."

Camille caught Moose's eye and he smiled as he gave a shrug. "Where's Chris?"

Holly's smile wavered. "He got a call, about the school, it's not good. We're heading back to Philadelphia tonight." She shook her head. "But that's not important. Come on you two, get on stage."

Five minutes later they stood on the almost empty stage in the lights as the crowd roared, the MC calling their names one at a time. A dancer from Jersey had made it as well as, Camille was saddened to see, Ericka Moore. She stood in the lights soaking up the audience's screams with a leech's attitude. Camille couldn't look at her and just turned her attention to the judges' balcony as the frizzy-haired blonde Lucille stood up.

"We're going to go through each of you individually, tell you what we loved, if that's okay?" She grinned but didn't wait for any kind of confirmation. "Starting with Moose Alexander: that throw was amazing and your style is legendary. You have the perfect mix of Jackson and hip hop and we love that." Lucille grinned. "Also I think I heard about four marriage proposals from the audience so they clearly love you as much as we did. You've got style and we appreciated seeing it."

Camille laughed as they turned to the Jersey guy standing with them. "Marriage proposals?"

"They love me," he gripped his heart and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "They really love me."

"Drama queen!" She stopped as she heard her name and looked back up at the judges.

"To Camille Gage: we loved your attitude, your style and especially your enthusiasm and cheeky moves. You have personality enough for six. But more than anything we were shocked by how much faith you showed in your teammates. That kind of teamwork is what a good dance crew needs. Well done."

Camille felt Moose's hand clamp over hers but she was suddenly so nervous she could barely look at him. Weeks ago Chris had been required to force her into this, but now she was so close to winning, she realised how badly she wanted it. She loved to dance. It was like breathing – it felt right. Sure she'd never be as good as Moose, he was BFABB, but dancing with a crew was where she excelled. Team spirit definitely was one of Camille's strongest points.

"And last, but not least, to Erika Moore: you're a natural-born leader and dancer. You seem to have mastered every single dance style asked of you, and at Elite that's the kind of thing we like to see. We can see how much you enjoy dancing and you're obviously built for the stage."

Erika beamed but Moose frowned, muttering under his breath. "Pick anyone but her. Anyone but her." Camille caught his eye and he grinned. "Anyone but her, but especially Camille." She smiled through the nervousness.

"But we've stalled this long enough. With three judges decisions to one, including my vote if that makes you feel extra special," the frizzy-haired blonde grinned. "Our choice is…"

…

**A/N 2**: Final chapter up next. Oooh, I wonder who will win? The intrigue! I have no doubt that at least 99% of you have already guessed but still, pretend you don't know and humour me by pretending you're shocked when you review chapter 20. I want to see at least one person write 'OMG KATE-EMMA I CAN'T BELIEVE (INSERT NAME HERE) TOTALLY WON THIS! OM-TO-THE-G!'. Please somebody start with that and work on from there! ;)


	21. You Say Goodbye I Say Hello

**Disclaimer: **Step Up still not mine. Music 'Young Blood' by The Naked and Famous (you know how this works, give a listen as you read!).

**A/N: **Final chapter. Thanks for all the feedback and love and support. Special shout-outs to coose fan, cinderstellabella, dancingintherayne and of course miss whizzified magic (close, but no cigar!), and all the rest of the lovely reviewers for their unwavering support. Oh and if you haven't already, go read their Step Up stuff, it's brilliant! But without further ado, here it is…

Chapter Twenty;  
You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello…

**TWO WEEKS LATER…**

Holly flicked on the radio and turned it up as the cleaning crew around the school set to work.

_Where all the young lie still, we require certain skills  
We're gonna take this like a win, I'll take control when it begins…_

Gathering up a hammer she tucked it into her overalls pocket, smiling at two young students racing through the work to classes, as she made her way to the front of the school. Upon their arrival back in Philadelphia Holly and Chris had found the school closed by the fire brigade for being unsafe, unhappy parents and disenfranchised students practically gathered around the entrance. During their time away a few supporting walls destroyed by the fire had given in and the place was no longer safe for use, Chris realising this assessment likely came with the help of some Atherton members, and he sent everyone away for two weeks. He promised them the school would be reopened. He now had the Elite money to do it.

Today was reopening day and as painters finished the last of the work and a few young labourers cleaned up left behinds, Holly strolled out into the front of the school where the sun shone brightly even though the trees around the school showed they were now well into August and hence autumn was making it's early appearance.

Chris stood just ahead of her removing weeds that had gathered around the front gates and Holly whistled, making him look up with a smile. "Hey, where were you this morning?" He raised an eyebrow. "A little warning before I wake up cold and alone would be nice."

"You start telling people like this and you'll be waking up cold and alone every day buddy." She prodded him in the chest but it was half-hearted. She wasn't sure why she was hesitant to tell people she and Chris were a thing now but she guessed it to be long held trust issues. Hopefully it would fade. If anyone was worth a few therapy sessions it was Chris Barry. "Hey." She motioned to the Eckhardt entrance sign. "What's all this then?"

"I thought I'd save you the honour." Chris said, motioning to the sign on the entrance that read 'closed' in red writing.

"For me?" Holly attempted to look cutesy but she just felt silly. "Alright, ready?"

Chris grinned. "Go for it." With a flourish Holly pulled the sign off with her hammer and let it fall onto the grass. Underneath remained the original words 'Eckhardt Academy of Dance: now accepting enrolments'. Holly grinned at it then took Chris' outstretched hand. He pulled her towards him and dropped a kiss on her head. "Back to business now."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

…

Moose kicked the carpet of the airport lounge, ticket in his left hand and a small blue jewellery box in the other. He'd found the silver bracelet the day before whilst walking through the streets of New York thinking about exactly when he'd be back, seen it in a shop window and instantly thought it would be the best going away present for Camille. The little silver moose charm he'd found inside sat perfectly upon it. She wouldn't be allowed to forget him now.

If only she remembered to come that was.

He finally saw her fighting her way through the crowds and stood up, waving her over. She sidestepped a large woman with an even larger bag to get to him, looking puffed as she stopped at his side. "Thank goodness, I thought I was late."

"What happened?"

"Just Constance, she's a pain, drives like someone's grandmother." She pulled her backpack off her back and put it down. "Look, I got you something."

"Me too." He held out the case. "Open it later."

She smiled and fished a present from her bag. It was a box and Moose rattled it, but didn't open it either, just glancing up at the voiceover coming from nearby. First call for flight 135 to Los Angeles. "That's the one?" She asked.

Moose nodded. "Bags are checked in and everything so you're good to go." He handed her the ticket. "And I spoke to Luke and Natalie, they're meeting you at the airport."

Camille smiled. "What would I do without you Moose?" He shrugged. "Well, I better go." She put the jewellery case in her bag and slung it back over her arm. "I'll miss you."

"You won't miss me when you're touring the world and dancing all over the place. You're an Elite dancer now Chameleon, you don't need me."

Camille shook her head. "That's bull and you know it." She hugged him tightly, her chin pressing into his shoulder as he pulled her tighter, never wanting to let go. They only parted when the voiceover sounded again stating a second call had just been issued. "I better go." She slipped from his grasp slowly but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Hey, just one thing," she frowned a little. "I love you."

Camille grinned. "I love you too." Giving the check-in desk one last look she smiled softly. "I'll call you when I get to LA." He nodded and then, sliding her hand from his, she was gone. Moose walked over to the nearest window and stood there, staring at the planes, until his phone rang and he snapped it open, seeing Chris' number.

"Hey Moose-man," Chris said before Moose could even say hello. "Little lady gone?"

"Yeah, she's gone." He looked out at the runway wondering which plane was Camille's, but he had no idea and gave up, turning away. "Why?"

"Because buddy, I'm not paying you to hang around at airports all day, so get your butt back to work." With a laugh Moose snapped the phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket. Giving the runway one last look he walked away from the window and towards the exit.

_Fall back in love eventually, yeah yeah yeah…_

…

For the full Step Up 4: Play It Your Way character details, playlist and where you can listen to all songs used in the piece, visit www (dot) stepupnstepout (dot) blogspot (dot) com


	22. AN UPDATE

Hey Guys,

A quick note to apologize for the lack of replies in almost forever and the absolute silence as I tried to focus on other things.

I owe you an explanation really.

Last May I injured my knee playing soccer. As a dance teacher it's been a hard blow being told I wouldn't be able to dance without intensive and costly surgery. Well, costly if I want it done before mid-2013. Unfortunately before mid-2013 is my only option as dance is my income and I have very little of that.

Last year I had to skip the year because of an overseas holiday in May/June, so no 2011 income, and this year I had no choice to to pull out since I couldn't even walk in May and I'm unable to dance. By mid-July it seemed to be getting better, I was running, and then I slipped and injured myself again.

I have patello-fermoral instability resulting from stress on the kneecap and a collision during a soccer match. I require an intensive surgery called a TTO (where they re-align my knee) and an MPFL reconstruction (the MPFL is the ligament that holds your kneecap in place and stops it slipping all over the place). Until then, and after a year of intense physiotherapy, I will be unable to dance again.

If you know me you know that's a cruel blow, but even worse than that, as a choreographer, it's put me out of whack seemingly for a long time. It's no great secret I've been struggling with depression since the incident (I took up dance after years of dealign with shyness and anxiety issues) and found it hard to write anything at all, let alone anything to do with dance - which is just like putting a nail right through my hand.

I have started the sequel to Play It Your Way which now sits happily on my desktop waiting for love. It's been there for almost a year and a half, since I got back from America, but I won't post it if I can't promise it will get completed.

I want to thank everyone who followed my Step Up series, and hopefully this fic, Part 5 and the two other parts to the series that I have planned will get written. One day when I can dance again.

Until then wish me luck for my surgery. No date yet but just luck that whenever it happens it works and come 2014 I'll be able to get back to the kids, back to the dance, and back to what I love best - writing for these brilliant films. (How good was Step Up 4? Yes! I know!)

Take care of yourselves guys,

- Kate-Emma


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